Two Strange Requests in One Strange Day
On Monday, we received a voicemail message purportedly from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In the message, the caller requested access to our backyard to look for evidence of the Asian Longhorn Beetle and for trees they like. Even stranger, we received in the mail a copy of a handwritten note from “David and Jason, 
On Monday, we received a voicemail message purportedly from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In the message, the caller requested access to our backyard to look for evidence of the Asian Longhorn Beetle and for trees they like.
Even stranger, we received in the mail a copy of a handwritten note from “David and Jason,†stating that they had purchased a property close to us and that they were interested in buying our property.
Are either of these legit? If not, what’s the scam?
@eman1234 – so what they want to buy your house, you should call them on it and ask them to make you an offer.
i backtracked the phone numbers on the letters about buying your house and came up with this guy…david shorenstein
SilverShore Realty Inc
(917) 541-9005
silvershorerealtyinc@gmail.com
..can anyone report this to n ethics board?
You can check the Dept of Ag easily enough by comparing the number they left or called from with the department’s numbers on their website or in the phone book. You can also call the department’s main switchboard number and ask them. If anyone shows up claiming to be from the Department of Agriculture, insist on seeing official identification, and feel free to call the department to confirm the authenticity of the ID.
Ignore Jason and David. Sometimes homeowners receive unsolicited expressions of interest in purchasing their property. The properties in question are usually particularly desirable. We constantly receive postcards from realtors telling us how they’ve sold properties in our neighborhood recently. If you want to test the market call a license realtor.
Unfortunately, those types with their letters are aimed at naive elderly people. That’s who they’re trolling for.
See yesterday’s forum post on Beetles
Wow David & Jason sure were busy, got one too!! Can’t imagine how a badly hand written note would gemerate any business.
Dept of Ag check for longhorn beetle is standard, especially if they have on record that your yard has one of the types of trees that is most often hit (like birch, which is what we have; not sure about what the other ones are).
i get those weird “want to buy your house” letters once in a while, too, but never from david and jason! the grammar and spelling is always terrible in the ones I get, which kind of cracks me up.
Yeah, we got David and on letter, too. Wow, they sure own a lot of the Slope!!!!
First solicitation we’ve received (eral or scam) sicne teh South Slope downzoning. We used to get flyers offering cash daily before the downzoning. But this isn’t a scuzzy speculator looking to flip to a developer, this is some kind of scam fishing (no ph cuz not online). I don’t know the story, tho.
letter from “David and Jason” is most certainly a scam.
has anyone called them?
Dept. of Ag is legit. Letter isn’t. It’s Xeroxed & everyone in every neighborhood got them.