If you have a home security system — and especially if you have signs in the yard or stickers on the door that say so — you could become the victim of a scam.

Here’s how it works: Scammers will spot your security warning signs and show up at your door. (In many cases these will be college students hired for the summer.) They’ll say that your security company has gone out of business and that you need to sign a contract for new service with their company. They’ll ask you to give personal information as part of signing up for the new service, but any equipment they give you will be fake.

If this happens to you, don’t rush to sign up. There are steps you need to take first.

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