SAUGUS — The Police Department is warning residents to be wary of construction-fraud schemes after an elderly woman was scammed out of more than $100,000.
In a series of tweets, the department said a concerned citizen called police about “unnecessary work” being done to a neighbor’s home. When detectives began investigating, they determined a group of workers had promised an elderly woman they would perform repairs.
When the workers began performing the repairs, they told the woman they needed to do additional “foundation repairs” to the home. By the time police intervened, the woman had already paid more than $100,000 to the scammers. This type of scam typically targets older, unwitting, senior-citizen homeowners, police said.
Typically, once the men receive an upfront payment, they find additional tasks that they say need to be done at a higher cost. The construction crews generally have a false company name, addresses, and email. In addition, all the work they perform is not permitted, police said.
By the time police arrive, victims have usually already been scammed out of thousands of dollars, based on “sham transactions,” police said. They added that victims often have to pay additional money to another contractor to fix and undo some of the work done by the scammers.
Saugus is not the only community where residents have fallen victim to the scam, and anyone with information regarding the fraud is asked to call the police.
