Over the years I've warned you about all sorts of door-to-door sales scams that involve magazines, yard work, cleaning supplies and home repair. But this alert comes with a puzzling twist.

In this case the solicitor claims to be with a company we've all heard of, and there's reason to suspect he may be an impostor.

Brent and Doryan Flathau of Renton were home on Saturday evening when a man walked up the steps to their property, ignored the "no trespassing" sign and opened the gate.

The family dog sounded the alarm. Brent went out to investigate.

The man claimed to be with the phone company. He said Qwest was upgrading its service in the neighborhood.

"He had a scratched-up badge attached to him and he real quickly showed me the badge, but you couldn't see anything," said Brent.

Brent says he had no Qwest material.

"He had a piece of paper that said I had a 256k modem. And how he had that information, I don't know," said Brent.

Brent's wife Doryan was suspicious.

"Well, at first he wanted to go in the house," she said.

But the Flathaus kept him outside where the man reviewed their phone bill, claiming he could save them money on Internet service.

"It seemed like he really wanted to get our signatures," said Doryan.

The couple says he was pushy.

"I said if I want this deal, I'm just going to call Qwest and get it myself. That's what I said to him. And he said, 'Oh! Can't do that!' He just acted like sign up now or that's it," Doryan said.

The Flathaus say they man was also oddly dressed in brown pin-striped pants that looked like the bottom half of a suit, a navy blue jogging jacket, sneakers and a puka-shell necklace.

They say the man never gave his name and got huffy when they refused to sign a work order. They sent the guy packing and called police.

"Obviously if he's working our neighborhood, he's working other neighborhoods." said Brent.

Here's another twist.

Turns out Qwest sometimes uses a third party for door-to-door marketing.

A Qwest spokeswoman says door-to-door marketing is a common practice in the industry. But Qwest says its contracted salespeople always carry a clear photo ID and wear clothing that bears the Qwest name and logo.

The salespeople should never pressure you to sign anything on the spot because there are no one-time-only offers. Consumers can always contact the company at a later date.

Qwest has launched its own investigation. In the meantime, if you're approached by a suspicious door-to-door salesperson, take down the person's name, then use the phone directory or the number on your statement to call the company to verify the information.

Never give any personal information, never let a stranger in your home and never buy anything on the spot. Let the salesperson stand outside while you make a call to check them out. And if you can't get confirmation, do like Doryan and Brent Flathau and send them packing.