I moved to Australia from America and within months I fell for a scam I thought died off in the 70s

A young American woman living in Australia has been left red-faced after falling for a door-to-door salesman's scam just five months after moving Down Under.

In a post shared on Reddit, the horrified woman said she was approached in her driveway by a young, good looking man who offered to clean her carpets for free.

In an attempt to get rid of the salesman without confrontation, she told him that she only had tiles, no carpet. However he was not deterred - insisting that he'd still be happy to book her in for a free appointment to clean her floors on the following Sunday.

As part of his initial pitch the man, who she said was in his early 20s, offered the woman a company flyer, told her she was eligible for a free cleaning and that she would even be entered into a draw that could see her win $1,000.

The unnamed woman - who confessed to having 'severe anxiety about telling people "no"' - said that the man then asked her who was in charge of paying the rent, admitting that she gave the salesman her husband's name, thinking nothing of it. 

It was only when she told her husband about the interaction that she realized she'd fallen victim to a very common scam - something that she said she'd 'never in her life encountered' while living in the US. 

'I am an American, moved here five months ago,' she began her post. 'I have never in my entire life encountered a door to door sales man back in the US (and tbh I thought they died off in like the 70s…) so I was naïve about them and wasn’t being smart at all.'

Recounting her interaction with the salesman, she confessed that she'd been 'super caught off guard' when she saw him standing in her driveway, but that she was quickly lured in by the promise of a free floor cleaning. 

'I was immediately like oh sorry we don’t have carpets only tile… he is like, "Don’t worry young lady we will clean tile as well!"' she wrote. 

'I was like ohh wow that’s crazy really? Its free? (I’m so stupid.) He says who’s in charge of rent/the house and that sort of stuff here? I tell him ohhh not me at all it’s my husband. He asks for my husbands name (I gave it stupidly) and he goes we’ll pop around Sunday at 2 for your free cleaning!'

Immediately after booking in her free cleaning however, the woman was given a harsh dose of reality when her husband laid bare the truth behind the sneaky scheme.

'I immediately told my husband about the interaction and he goes yes those are the vacuum scammers they go to every house you didn’t win anything they want you to buy cleaning devices you don’t get anything…' she revealed. 

'He said you always want to shut the door on those guys or ignore them…'

Mortified by her mistake, the woman then asked her fellow Reddit users how she should go about canceling the appointment, voicing her fears that the young man would return to her home with his cleaning equipment and expect payment.  

'I feel awful, I honestly thought at first it was some community giveaway or like a charity thing like the free car washes,' she said.

She added that she is afraid of calling the company to cancel the appointment and is also frightened of being 'jumped' by the cleaners.

People were quick to comment on the thread - slamming the American for being naïve -  and giving her advice to negotiate the next few days.

'Answer the door with a mask and tell them you have tested positive (to Covid),' one woman said.

'Don't even open the door. Just yell through it then go away and ignore them,' said another.

'I would just sell up and move,' another suggested.

Others told her to tell them she no longer has floors and doesn't need their services.

While one told her to get a 'do not knock' sticker - as companies have to comply or face penalties 

Some said she should 'go to therapy' to learn to say no to people who try to sell her things she doesn't want. 

'Learn the key adulting skill of calm assertiveness. Do the therapy, research and practice the strategies. She is sabotaging her own life,' one person advised. 

Some were disappointed there was no 'door-to-door salesman love story' and blamed her headline for being misleading. 

'I fell for a door to door vacuum salesman,' the initial headline read.

'It isn't the "fell for" I hoped for,' one woman complained, echoing dozens of comments.

Some were all too happy to offer up their own romantic tales.

'20-odd years ago a Kirby salesman offered to clean my carpet for free. I had a dog that kept peeing on the carpet so I said yes please,' one woman said, beginning her tale.

She said the man 'lingered' after showing off his carpet cleaner.

'I had given him a glass of wine at the start. After a while he very awkwardly asked if he could stay the night with me. He was gorgeous, and I was single and living in a small gossipy town with zero talent so I said yes,' she said.

'A great night was had by all then I happily said goodbye to him the following day.'

She added that her cousins have been directing cleaner jokes at her ever since. 

Some people warned they have worked for similar companies.

'The clean they will do is about one metre by one metre. Don't buy the over priced sh*t,' one said.