Hoax: Sex-Trafficking Booksellers

A Facebook post claims that young women with heavy (or “Slavic”) accents are going door-to-door, posing as book sellers – but are really searching for sex trafficking victims.

It’s not true.

The rumor originated in Gilbert, Arizona, but has also been circulated mentioning other communities. Let’s first take a look at one version of the rumor:

ATTENTION FRIENDS IN THE GILBERT AREA (especially with kids): Last week two young slavic girls came to our house selling Children’s books. They asked to come in and were very pushy. They interacted with Maximus for awhile and asked us a ton of questions. They had a binder full of names of families in the area and kept asking over and over for us to give them more names of kids in our neighborhood and surrounding area. They came back two days later again.

Today I found out there is a scam of two women “with heavy accents” going door to door pretending to sell children’s books but who are targeting young girls for sex trafficking. There have been abductions from this scam in other states. I spoke with Gilbert PD and they are already investigating. PLEASE CALL THE POLICE if these girls come to your door.

There have in fact been women with “accents” selling books in Gilbert, Arizona, but their intent is much more benign than the unfounded rumors circulating on Facebook: They are students selling books to pay for college expenses.

Maria Fristikova of Prague told FOX 10 in Phoenix that people had been nice to her while she sold books as a summer job – until the Facebook rumors began.

The students sell books on behalf of Southwestern Advantage.

Gilbert Police Response

Police in Gilbert, Arizona investigated the claims and stated that the women were licensed to sell books, and no criminal complaints had been filed. Their statement read:

It has come to the Gilbert Police Department’s attention that a Facebook post being disseminated through social media networks claims female subjects are soliciting door to door in Gilbert in an attempt to sell children’s books and publications. The post claims these solicitors are posing as salespeople in order to gain information on children in the area for the purpose of engaging children in illegal activity.

The Gilbert Police Department has no evidence to substantiate the claims at this time. GPD has responded to calls of suspicious activity regarding the subjects selling publications door to door. We have identified that they have a valid license to do so from the Town of Gilbert. At this point we have no reports of criminal activity involving these subjects to date.

Residents are reminded they have no obligation to answer their door for solicitors. To verify legitimacy, solicitors are required to have a Town of Gilbert peddler’s license in their possession. If a solicitor refuses to leave your property after you have requested them to do so call the Gilbert Police Department’s non-emergency number at(480) 503-6500 to resolve the situation.

Door-To-Door Cautions

If you’re concerned about safety regarding door-to-door salesmen, you may want to review Modern Survival Blog’s list of 10 Things To Do When A Stranger Knocks On Your Door.

Bottom Line

This rumor is completely without merit.

• Gilbert police dismisses Facebook post (Matthew Longdon, The Arizona Republic: August 2, 2013)
• Facebook post accuses saleswomen of recruiting sex slaves (Mia Garcia, FOX 10: Updated August 7, 2013)