Seasons SCAMMINGS – Part 2! If you are a native New Englander, you know that when we get warm days in November, we end up paying for them in the coming months. At this time of year, many homeowners are considering last minute winterizations and preparations for the coming season. Enter the home improvement scammers. This particular breed of criminal seeks to take advantage of those who need completion of last-minute home projects only to find out that most contractors are fully booked with customers. The scarcity of contractors opens the door for price gouging and for fraudulent operators.
In police parlance, they case out neighborhoods prior to contacting potential victims. The contact may be by phone, email, text message, or by a knock on the door. Targeting requires very little effort; a simple check of town records for property and building permits allows access to the home records and contact information. Quite often, the criminal will simply offer to inspect your roof or heating system and report the existence of problems urgently needing correction before winter weather arrives. (Once it arrives, the moves to snow and ice removal).
