If our homes are our castles, perhaps we all need a mote to serve as protection from the scammers and con artists that can so easily show up at our castle’s door.

Front door scams usually takes place in the middle of the day. One of the most frequent of scams happens when two crooks, wearing orange shirts, show up posing as inspectors from the gas company that have been sent to check a leak. They tell you what is happening with a sense of urgency and that this is an emergency situation. One then asks you to take him to the side of your home to show him where your gas meter is located while the other goes into your home to check on dangerous leaks from your appliances. It all happens very fast. While the homeowner is showing the phony inspector the gas meter, his fellow crook is looting as much jewelry and anything else of value that will fit in his pockets. Once the outside crook feels enough time has gone by, he radios the inside robber and asks if it is safe for them to come in. Upon the A-OK, the homeowner is escorted back to their front door and assured the leak has been taken care of. Usually, residents don’t start missing the valuables right away, often forgetting about this episode by the time they notice things are missing.

Another front door scam that has shown up in Southern California is usually carried out by a polite young man and an attractive female. They will explain that are location scouts from one of the major film studios and that your home has been chosen to be used in a movie shoot. They will tell you the pay is very substantial, usually between $10,000 and $15,000. The couple will then ask the homeowner to be shown around the home and with each room the house becomes even more perfect than they thought. The young man will then ask to see the back yard and garage. The woman will lag behind saying she has to make an urgent call. As the homeowner is being told how great the backyard is or what big star will be coming to their home, the woman is busy cramming every valuable she can find into her satchel or briefcase. This scam ends as they tell the resident the camera crew and director will be coming in two days to look at the home and finalize the contract.

Then there is the home remodeling contractor scammer. This smiling and helpful fellow, who hands you a business card with his contractor’s license on it, says he just found a few roofing shingles that fell off your roof. Again, just like with the film crew, he tells you it is your lucky day. Being as that he just finished another job in the neighborhood, he has a little time and can fix your roof in about 30 minutes for a reasonable fee. If you agree to this work, for which he will usually ask to use your ladder, he’ll happily go up, make believe he is doing something, collect his money and be on his way.

A front door scam people have been falling for year is the work-at-home scam. These scammers again, usually show up during the day, find someone (hopefully unemployed and desperately looking for work) and tell them they could be making big money without leaving their house. The con artist will tell the homeowner there are no upfront costs, all they have to do is process checks and that their commission is a whopping 25 percent of each check processed. It seems like a great deal but here’s the truth: Your job is simply to cash the checks in your account, deduct your commission and send a check for the balance to the company. For those who sign up for this gig, they will be thrilled that their fist check, for $4,000, has made them the easiest $1.000 they have ever earned. That thrill will greatly subside in a few days when your bank contacts you telling you the original check for $4,000 was no good.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF

1) Never open your door to a person you don’t know, even someone in an official looking uniform. Remember, unless they have a court issued search warrant, you are not obligated to open your door to anyone.

2) If the person at your door says they are from the gas company, fire or police department or any other agency, ask them to hold up their ID and get a phone number where you can call to confirm that they are supposed to be there.

3) Look for a gas company truck or contractor’s vehicle parked outside.

4) Never let anyone inside your home unless you are sure who they are and you remain with them.

5) Don’t believe too-good-to-be-true offers that just show up at your front door. That just doesn’t happen.

If you have a consumer complaint you would like Judd to look into, contact him at

www.TroubleshooterJudd.com where you can also catch his Web show on Wednesdays at 1 p.m.