The holiday season is a time to spread cheer, but RCMP say a group of travelling fraudsters are spreading misery and attempting to take your hard earned money.
Nanaimo RCMP is warning residents of a group of fraudsters making their way throughout Vancouver Island offering fraudulent home and yard services.
The most recent occurred in south Nanaimo on Dec. 15.
Officers say a home owner was approached and asked to hire the company. The home owner declined the offer and reported the incident to police.
“This group have already targeted the communities of West Shore, Sidney, and Victoria scamming home owners out of thousands of dollars,” Const. Gary O’Brien said.
“In each case, they approach various residences and offer to complete roofing, gutter, driveway or paving services. For any work done payment is expected up front, the work is not completed and the service they provide is sub par at best.”
RCMP said in the Nanaimo incident, the suspect was a Caucasian man with an Irish accent, but previous reports have upwards of four men associated to the fraud.
The fraudsters sometimes use the company name “Trade Right Paving Inc”, which has various one-star reviews from a number of unsatisfied customers complaining of fraudulent work.
Other company names used are “All Roads Paving Inc.” and “Weatherproof Roofing and Masonry.”
RCMP said if you are approached by this group, do not accept any offers for yard work or repairs and report the contact to your closest police jurisdiction.
“Handy man frauds are not new and the standard ploy is to do shoddy work, demand money up front and not complete their work,” O’Brien said.
Anyone with information on these fraudsters is asked to call Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345.
More information on current frauds and scams can be found on the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website.
Mackenzie Read
