A retired teacher was almost scammed out of £7,000 by cold callers who told her they had found toxic mould in her attic.
She was visited at her home in Glasgow by fraudsters offering a “free survey” to check her property for mould.
They then pressured her into taking out a loan – and the transaction was only cancelled when the woman’s bank spotted signs of a scam.
Trading standards teams have now issued a warning to householders amid reports of similar scams being attempted in deprived areas across the UK.
In some cases, scammers have then used pressure tactics to trick the householder into paying an “admin fee” of £50 to £250, which they claimed was necessary to secure a government energy-efficiency grant.
The scammers then failed to return to carry out the work, and victims were unable to contact them to get their money back.
In other cases, the scammers have gone on to carry out work including installing spray foam insulation, which they claim has “mould killing qualities”.
They have charged excessive amounts – often several thousands of pounds – for poor quality and unnecessary work, which in some cases has been found to affect the mortgage-ability of the property.
In addition to cold-calling, scammers are also attempting to arrange surveys by text and phone call.
The scams follow widespread media coverage of the inquest into the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in…
