RICHMOND, Va. – The BBB is warning local contractors about a scam. The agency is telling local contractors to lookout for emails or texts that report to be from a disabled homeowner needing to fix up a home, or potentially for resale.
BBB was notified earlier this week by a local contractor who had received emails from a “property owner”, requesting an estimate for roof repairs. The scammer led the contractor to believe she was hearing impaired and could communicate via email or text only.
The contractor noticed several red flags, such as numerous misspellings and poor grammar.
The “disabled consumer” also wanted to know if she could pay upfront with her credit card before any work had even been done and more specifically if she could overpay for the work on her card and have the contractor refund the balance to her.
“We’ve seen scams like this for years,” said Tom Gallagher, Central Virginia BBB CEO. This scam also works well via TTY operators and services.
“The story always ends the same – the buyer wants to provide overpayment and request a refund of the cash.” BBB officials report that they have seen several instances with the same telephone number, requesting an estimate, linked to a request to make an overpayment.”
Should you receive a similar email, BBB’s advice is to jot down the full name, address, telephone number, and the name of the issuing bank. Then do not be afraid to call the bank and verify this information before moving forward with any transactions.
“If it seems too good to be true, it is too good to be true,” Gallagher said.
