Be prepared for a visit from a magazine salesperson this holiday season.
The door-to-door salespeople have returned to Gainesville, said Ben Tobias, the Gainesville Police Department spokesperson. These people come through the city once or twice a year, knocking on doors in hopes of selling magazine subscriptions. They do not appear to have local ties to the community, and they can be aggressive and sometimes try to enter houses.
"If you are at home, don't ignore the knock on the door or the doorbell ringing," Tobias said. "Make it clear that you are at home."
If the person behind the door has criminal intentions, they will move on to the next house when it becomes obvious that someone is home. There have not been any confirmed connections between the salespeople and burglaries around town.
Mina Radman edited this story online.