"It's heightened the awareness for all of us," said neighbor Chris Beck.
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He believes his house was targeted first around 5 a.m. on Friday when the couple came ringing and knocking at his front door.
Speaking through the door, Beck said a man was asking to come inside.
"He wanted to know if I would let him in because he was sharing that there was a lost child. I asked him if he called 911. He then proceeded to say, 'It would just take a moment,' and I said 'I'll call 911.'"
Beck said the threat of getting police involved seemed to set off a conversation between the couple, still standing on his doorstep.
"He stepped away, opened his hands up and then he actually turned to her, and there was a conversation that took place. And then he turned back to me and says, 'This must be the wrong house.'"
He said the man appeared frantic and disheveled.
Police describe the man as white or Hispanic, in his 30s with messy brown hair. He was wearing a red shirt, sweatpants and was barefoot.
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The woman was also white or Hispanic, in her 40s with brown hair, wearing a black hoodie.
The neighbor said the couple walked to their car parked in his driveway and sat for about three minutes before slowly driving down the street.
He said less than an hour later, he was notified of a growing neighborhood Facebook post after another neighbor posted her encounter with the same couple.
"We could track the direction because multiple people were getting the similar experience," Beck added.
The couple, he said, was slowly driving around, knocking on doors, trying to get inside homes.
At one house, police said they even claimed to be CPS and needed access to a home to check on a foster child.
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Police said the neighbors did the right thing, never allowing the couple inside and quickly sharing the suspicious behavior through social media.
"The power of your neighbors and the power of your community is truly the first line of defense," said Beck.
Police say the couple was seen driving a silver four-door sedan, possibly a Chevy Malibu.
This holiday season, they remind all communities to follow the "see something, say something" protocol.
If you have information, please call Houston police.
Follow Shelley Childers on Facebook and Twitter.
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