Because the home repair industry is thriving, it is lucrative for con artists, and each year Americans lose millions of dollars on fraudulent repairs and fixing the damage. Several leading agencies, including AARP, the Federal Trade Commission, and local Better Business Bureaus produce teaching materials for law enforcement and others to present fraud prevention information to interested community groups. Below are examples of common home repair scams to alert your constituency to, tips for hiring a contractor, and resources to use in your presentations.
Con artists carry out home repair scams in many different ways.
A common example is the quick repair made with materials left over from another job. The con artist approaches a homeowner with an offer to repair the driveway or roof with materials left over from another job in the neighborhood. Many of these fraudulent workers appear after heavy rains, winds, snow, or other disasters that wreck lawns, roads, and driveways. What seems like a good deal for the homeowner turns into a nightmare when it becomes apparent that the con artist used inferior materials, made faulty repairs, or did not do the job at all. Another typical scam is the home improvement loan scam where contractors persuade homeowners to finance the project through a lender the contractor knows.