WINCHESTER, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Clark County woman is teaching her kids about stranger danger and taking extra precautions following a creepy interaction with a scammer.
From a young age, we've always been taught stranger danger. Drilled into our minds that you don't get into a car or open the door for someone you don't know.
Emily Hamann, a Winchester resident, was face-to-face with that reality on the night of January 22 when a man she says was posing as an ADT worker showed up at her home.
"My fight or flight and protecting the kids and all like going absolutely crazy like a mama bear," explains Hamann. "So I was upstairs, and I was getting the kids ready for bed, and I heard the screen door open, and then this banging, and then the doorbell just started ringing."
Hamann was on the phone with her husband during this time while he was on his way home from Louisville. Instinct told her something was wrong.
"I noticed he was outside staring into our upstairs, and I was trying to move the kids out of the way so it looked like we weren't home. I'm like, 'Okay, maybe he would just go away.' and he would not go away," said Hamann.
After nearly 15 minutes, Hamann's husband was able to speak to the stranger through their doorbell camera. The man identified himself as an ADT worker in Safe Haven and informed them about a special promotion they received regarding $100,000 worth of security equipment. Hamann's husband informed the man they already had a security system and would pass.
Hamann posted her experience on Facebook, and to her surprise, she wasn't the only woman in the area who said the mystery man harassed them.
"The next morning I kept getting floods of messages in of recent homeowners who just bought within September to now and they were all women home alone with her kids, some didn't have kids," Hamann said.
Another woman in Winchester, Paige Poynter, posted her identical experience with the same man on Facebook. Her post describes him as wearing an ADT jacket and carrying an ADT binder. The post continues to explain that the man tried to open her screen door and peeked through her windows before leaving.
A couple of comments on Hamann's post claimed they also came across the man, but instead, he was posing as an "ex-state police officer."
Hamann says she called ADT, who confirmed that the man does not work for the company.
Hamann also called Winchester Police and Kentucky State Police to report the person. Winchester Police informed her the man was, in fact, a scammer. She feels as though the case is being dismissed and not taken seriously.
"Definitely don't be afraid to come forward and definitely keep our voices heard when they need to be heard. Because we have to do everything we can as women to protect ourselves and protect our children, especially as a mother and don't let your guard down and be on high alert," said Hamann.
