FAIRFIELD, Ohio — Paper towels and American flags: A group of apparent solicitors is showing up with these items in different neighborhoods throughout Fairfield in what some neighbors are calling a bizarre trend.
There are at least three people in the group — two women and one man — who travel in the same car. It's usually a blue Chevy Avalanche but occasionally it's been a red van, neighbors told WCPO.
"They pulled up and came up to my back door asking to clean my house, and my wife talked to them, and we ran them off and they'd been driving up and down the street all day that day," said Joseph Farquer, who lives near the corner of Doris Jane and Fairfield Avenues.
The grandfather said the group seemed to be canvassing his block last week and picking random houses to approach. The one who came up to his home was younger with dark hair and she was holding a single roll of paper towels, he said.
"She just kept coming at me and I mean they were polite, but you know, why they were doing that?" Farquer said. "It seemed like a scam, like they was trying to get into people's houses."
The other woman allegedly taking part tends to carry small American flags and tries to hand them out.
"Has somebody stopped by to give y'all a flag today?" she's heard asking one homeowner in a video shared with WCPO.
The man has been seen with both a flag and a roll of paper towels. Neighbors said the group will also unload a container of cleaning supplies from the back of their vehicle and try to sell them.
"That's real unusual," Village Green neighborhood resident Anne said. "We'd be calling each other if something was going on rather than ringing doorbells. So I think a lot of people are going to be aware of that and not answer doors."
Anne said she hasn't had any unsolicited door knocks lately, but a woman across the street has. That neighbor shared a photo with WCPO showing the man from the group standing at her doorstep.
Soliciting is illegal in Fairfield without a police-issued permit.
Solicitors are required to display a permit that contains their photograph before they can go door to door offering to sell goods and services. It is also only allowed Monday through Saturday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Ring doorbell video shared with WCPO shows the woman holding American flags knocking on a homeowner's door shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday.
Another neighbor told WCPO the group showed up at her relative's door at 10 p.m. one night and after he turned them away, they started yelling at him.
"I think a lot of people are going to be aware of that and not answer doors," Anne said. "In the neighborhood — we all have Ring doorbell cameras too — so we're all going to be watching for that."
The group has also allegedly been seen in Springdale and the Lindenwald area of Hamilton where some neighbors said they've called the police and filed reports.
"Just be prepared. Don't let them come up to your house," said Farquer. "I mean strangers are strangers."
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