Victim Location 57006
Type of a scam Home Improvement
Tree Services/ Tree Removal/ Tree Pruning/ Professional Cons.
The scammers mostly text and rarely speak on the phone. I have traced some to North Carolina and Tennessee. Accent is middle eastern or African. They say "Hello my name is ___________or ___________ or whatever and I just purchased a home in ____ city. I would like some trees removed from the ________residence do you accept credit cards." At which time you respond yes! Scammer says "Great, I need a quote for a tree removal as soon as possible. I am currently in a hospital undergoing ________surgery for _________illness and as such need a quote from you regarding the tree removal or pruning’s." At which you say sure! You go to the residence and usually (about 50% of the time) there is a for sale sign in front of the residence. If your smart you call the agent in charge of sales or locate the current owner and ask if they have ever heard of _________. They obviously have never heard of ____________. Anyways, some times there is only one tree and sometimes there are several. They either want all of the trees removed or they want extreme pruning procedures. So, you respond it will cost ________ dollars to remove the tree. The scammer says one of two things: (1) first the scammer says "Awesome, I agree to the cost but I need a favor I am in a hospital and have just purchased the residence but I need to pay the remaining relators or closing charges for the home." This is where the real scam comes to play. They ask you to charge an additional amount on the card and send them that extra money. It is additional to what you are charging them plus an always added compensatory charge graciously for yourself. At which time they want you to take there credit card information and charge for the job and send the excess money charged to them. If you say nah I am not a banking institution or my business does not operate like that or go to a bank they always have a reason why they cannot and it usually involves some sort of ailment or sickness. (2) the scammer says "Awesome I agree to the amount but I need you to send me a contract with your full name and address first." You get the idea. They want money or information. I have had to deal with three scams this past week. Each scammer speaks and writes better that the last. I should also mention they are more cunning and quick to respond.
This scam can work on many levels.