Police are searching for a reported scam artist in the DeKalb and Sycamore area claiming to sell children’s books.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s office received a report of a salesperson under the name of Craig Trautman selling children’s books and claiming to work for Dynasty Sales, according to a DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office news release.

The salesperson made a vague reference to being associated with NIU and was reported working in the DeKalb area Wednesday, said DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott. There were also sporadic reports of the salesman working in the area Oct. 3, and there may be more people working with the salesman in the scam, Scott said.

The salesman was reported going door-to-door selling the books, and after making a sales pitch, will ask for a drink of water or to use the bathroom to gain access to the residence, Scott said. Nothing has been reported stolen yet, but the salesman may be entering residences to spot items to steal later, Scott said. The salesman is not giving the victims any goods while going door-to-door but is only taking money and giving the victim a receipt, Scott said.

The first report of the salesman came after a victim looked up the company and salesman online and found it was reported to be part of a scam. The victim then stopped payment on the check and contacted the sheriff’s office, Scott said. Three other people have reported coming in contact with the salesman but did not make any deals with him.

The company the salesman said he worked for, Dynasty Sales, could not be verified by the sheriff’s office but did verify he is not associated with NIU, according to the release. The suspect is not registered with Sycamore, DeKalb or DeKalb County, according to the release.

The salesman is described as a white male, between 15 and 19 years of age and about 5 feet 8 inches tall. He was seen driving a burgundy Ford Explorer or Expedition, Scott said.

Any citizen that comes in contact with the suspect or company is encouraged to contact local law enforcement.

The same day the salesman was reported, DeKalb Police received reports of a salesperson claiming to sell magazines in the parking lot of Famous Footwear, 2453 Sycamore Road, at about 6:25 p.m.

The victim said she was sitting in her car when the suspect approached and started “hitting on her”, said DeKalb Police Lt. Gary Spangler. The victim told him to stop, at which point he told her he was trying to sell magazines to win a contest. The victim declined to buy any magazines and the suspect started yelling at her before leaving, Spangler said.

Spangler said they have gotten reports in the past of people coming into town in groups selling magazines and was unsure if the two scams are connected.

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