They are back. Again. … Roving groups of teenagers or young men and women knocking on your door and scamming away your money with fake magazine subscriptions. They seem to be on an annual — if not monthly — rotation through Willow Glen and other neighborhoods across the South Bay — and the country.

All this week, the WGNA eList has been abuzz with new reports of door-to-door magazine subscription scams in our neighborhood. As WGx has reported before — the Mercury’s Action Line revisits the topic regularly, the eList reports seem to follow a cycle, and one of WGx’s first posts ever in May 2005.

There’s also an online clearing house for people affected by these mag crews (communities, kids, parents, etc.): “Parent Watch” … All too often, often these crews are composed of runaways and the kids are poorly treated.

This time around, the young people have been pitching stories about team fundraisers, trips to London, and other seemingly worthwhile ventures, while claiming to be neighbors of yours related to doctors and unnamed regular dog-walkers in your area. They’ve been spotted in Saratoga, Campbell, and WG, among other communities.

So, WGx’s recommendation: Don’t give money to someone you don’t really know anything about. For any worthwhile cause, wait to make sure your money is really going where it’s supposed to be going.

And if you really want to subscribe to something, try subscribing to WGx, via email or RSS reader. … cheap, easy, and no salesman will ever call.