As if getting home repair work done wasn’t stressful enough, with that oh-so-ambiguous "arriving between the hours of 8 and 4" business, a recent scam makes judging the credibility of contractors another headache. A few weeks ago, police exposed a series of frauds in the city and county that targeted elderly residents. In these cases, men would go door-to-door offering roof and chimney repair for a "good deal" and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Charging exorbitant prices after their work was done, including over $12,000 to one poor sap, their so-called repair work amounted to little more than spray painting areas of the roof and chimney.
If dudes come by your place offering to do prune trees or repair your roof, they might be scammers, not good Samaritans.
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Five men were charged on October 4 for being involved in these frauds, with one suspect left at large. According to Ric Barrick, city spokesman, less than a dozen cases have been reported. Payment was usually demanded in cash, presumably on the assumption that these elderly victims had not yet sent it away for their grandchildren’s birthdays. The home repair tactic used by these men is common in other parts of the country, with other types of repair work offered, including asphalt paving, gutter repair and electrical wiring. In set-ups like these, including the recent city cases, a burglary may occur by accomplices in tandem with the shoddy repair work.
Another type of fraud that can occur in the city involves lawn maintenance, according to Barrick, where again, men will go door-to-door offering their services to prune trees. They do so, only to charge per limb rather than per tree, as was initially implied.
Beyond offering home repair and yard work, burglaries can also occur under the guise of other circumstances. Burglars will pretend to be cable company workers, city inspectors, or just distressed folks who need to use the bathroom. They may have official-looking badges, cars, and uniforms, or be accompanied by women and children for credibility. While they distract the homeowner, their accomplices steal money, jewelry and even safes.
While the number of reported cases remains low—less than a dozen were reported for the contractor scam—it’s always wise to be cautious. As for those who claim to need to use the bathroom, well, just point them toward your nosy neighbor’s house.
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