Ball State University officials say the campus is visited by door-to-door solicitors every year and the solicitors are generally not legitimate.
Robert Fey, associate director of public safety, said there is a strategy to how solicitors work.
"The common pattern with solicitors on campus is that first, they are hired by companies as private contractors," he said. "Then they are dumped on campus for a day to go door to door and sell these generally fake products."
Jenn Goddard, Studebaker East Complex hall director, said the items most often sold by solicitors are magazine subscriptions, credit cards and makeup.
Fey said the problems with solicitors are that they are not permitted on campus, they usually don't have sales permits, they carry little or no identification, and thefts are often associated with their visits to academic offices and residence halls.
The solicitors aren't paid until the end of the campaign, Fey said. This means when solicitors are arrested, they are at the mercy of the "fly-by-night companies" that employ them, he said.
Goddard said residence hall staff do everything they can to stop soliciting from happening within the residence halls, but they cannot always stop it.
"If we see someone knocking on doors trying to sell their merchandise, we call the UPD [University Police Department] immediately," she said. "The only problem with that is we can't kick them out if someone invites them into their room."
Fey said that if a student decides to buy from solicitors, the student shouldn't let them into his or her room, should get good documentation of the transaction and keep belongings secure.
Director of Public Safety Gene Burton said solicitors are only around as long as it takes for UPD to catch them all.
"The hard part about stopping solicitors on campus is that they usually look like just another college student," Burton said. "We can't stop every student because he or she may or may not be soliciting."
If solicitors are seen around campus or in residence halls, contact UPD at 765-285-1111.
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