Within the last week, at least five students have reported the theft of wallets from residence hall rooms or work areas after solicitors had been in the area or the room, officials from the ISU Police Department said Tuesday.

“No one has witnessed any solicitors steal the wallets,” said ISU Police Capt. Gene Deisinger. “We don’t have enough information to link solicitors to the thefts.”

He urged residents and staff of residence halls to be cautious.

Anne Durfee, freshman in management and resident of Oak-Elm, said two men came to her room selling magazines Friday.

Durfee said they stepped into her room to shake her hand, and her phone rang. She turned around to answer it and was only on the phone for a short time. When she turned back around the men thanked her and left, she said.

Durfee said she first noticed the wallet was missing when she went to get her ISU student identification card in her wallet and found it wasn’t there.

Durfee reported the theft to the Oak-Elm hall desk, then called ISU Police .

The student identification card was found in the street by ISU Police a half hour later, she said.

“I was glad to know I wasn’t going crazy — my wallet had actually been stolen,” Durfee said.

Durfee said she had to cancel her ATM card and will have to get a new license, but may have to wait until Thanksgiving, when she returns to her hometown in Minnesota.

“Really all they got out of it was $25, but what they did to me was a big hassle,” she said.

Other ISU students reported similar incidents.

Javarra Hodge, freshman in liberal arts and sciences, said two men knocked on her door in Maple Hall on Thursday around noon.

“The men said they were selling magazines for a job, and the more magazines they sold, the better their chances were to win a trip anywhere in the world,” Hodge said. “I told them I didn’t want any magazines.”

Hodge said one man sat down at her desk to write her name and address down so they could mail her information about different magazines.

The other man stood behind her where she could not see him, she said.

Hodge said her purse, containing her wallet, was sitting on two stacked buckets that were at the same height as her desk.

“Then they left and my wallet was gone,” she said.

Hodge said she did not report the stolen wallet to officials because she did not know who to go to.

The wallet contained an ATM card, several uncashed checks and her license.

Hodge said she had to order a new ATM card and will have to go back to Waterloo to obtain a new license.

Angela Mowrer, sophomore in computer engineering and resident of Barton Hall, said her wallet was also stolen over the weekend, but she did not know who stole it.

“We can’t figure out what happened,” Mowrer said.

Mowrer said the last time she saw her wallet was early in the afternoon Friday, but did not notice its disappearance until midnight Sunday.

Mowrer and her roommate usually lock the door when they leave the building or go to the dining hall, she said. When on the floor but not in the room, they will leave it unlocked but usually close the door.

Someone must have come in while her door was unlocked, Mowrer said.

The wallet contained ticket stubs of sentimental value and a license that will have to be replaced in her hometown in Minnesota.

Mowrer said she called her parents and ISU Police to file a report.

Police work quickly to locate and identify unauthorized solicitors on campus to move them on promptly, Deisinger said. Many solicitors are trying to earn a living and are not aware they are not allowed on campus to solicit. When notified of the solicitation ban, they usually move on, he said.

“To our knowledge the solicitors have moved on and are no longer in the area,” Deisinger said.

Students who are approached by an unknown person should request identification and report the presence of solicitors as soon as possible to ISU Police, Deisinger said. Students are advised not to prop open doors that are usually locked, to close doors when inside the room and to lock doors when leaving.

Students should be careful about what they carry in their wallet, Deisinger said. Carrying pin numbers for debit and ATM cards is strongly cautioned against.