A lot of older people are too trusting and easily scammed by people like that. Where I live, we get the roofers and driveway paver scams where they paved someone's driveway in the neighborhood and have some leftover material if we're interested. My husband deals with them. I wouldn't even open the door for them.

I don't know how you can get through to your parents except to maybe keep reminding them about how the people that show up at your home promising free stuff, etc., are just scammers looking to take advantage of old people.

I assume your folks are in the metro NYC region, FSK. We have always experienced exactly the same locust plague of door to door scammers over the years here in Ohio.

The contractor types that scam all follow exactly the same template: offer weak social proof of legitimacy ("hyuk we just done your neighbor's drahvway down the street on Kirby and he liked the job we done, we go sealer and muhterials and the guys are still on the clock, make you a deal." Driveways, gutters, and my grandma paid for "protective" lightning rods on the peak of her 1 story home back in the 70s.

Supposedly there is a Roma/Gypsy clan called the Williamsons that pervade this part of the midwest with such scams.

Another scam we used to get was a supply truck offering "steaks" (loosely defined) and frozen meats. The deal there was *always* "we just supplied a restaurant and we have this overstock so I'll make you a deal on the excess." I bought some just once and the steaks were total trash. I really need to ask these motherfuckers next time they stop by exactly WHICH restaurants they had been at.

Ideas for you (coaching your folks who are dim due to age won't work - I have no idea why but the most based senior citizen who was a huge skeptic in their prime becomes totally gullible at some age):

- Surveillance: Webcams which you control, mounted in the entry doorway where someone would come up from the street. Pay for a cloud subscription so you can see and download video clips. (Wyze is cheap and we have one such camera mounted at my MIL's house but I swear it misses lots of activities. I LOVE the Reolink which lets you set up your own FTP storage off site.That is my doorbell camera.)

- Deterrence: mount OBVIOUS webcams at the front door. People DO notice them. Also buy and put up fake security alarm warning signs (IE, the shield shaped signs that say "this house monitored by ABC security".)

The webcams I have may be why we see few door to door people any more. Also we have security service signs in front.

The problem with prosecuting this kind of fraud is that most of the time the contractor came in from outside the jurisdiction (county or even state) and therefore the effort to bring them to account is huge.

A webcam or a Ring doorbell are good ideas, but it won't help if they open the door and start talking to them. Somehow you have to get them to not engage these people. AARP has magazines and newspapers they send to members that talk about many of these scams and warn seniors to not fall for it. If they're not members of AARP maybe they should join.

I know seniors are gullible when they get older, but you have to keep reminding them to not talk to those people.