Beware of Roof Scam
On Sunday, March 19, a resident on Cedarcrest Blvd. reported that a man knocked on his door and told him he was a roofer and that one of his roof vents was damaged. With a promise to repair it, he was paid $40 to do the job. The suspect took the money without completing any repairs.
On July 5, a Sibley Ave. resident reported that a man and woman knocked on her door. The man said he was a roofer and that one of the vents was damaged and he would repair it for $250. The victim, fearing that this was a scam, didn’t give the suspects any money and they left the area.
On July 8, another resident on Sibley Ave. reported a man and woman knocked on her door. The man indicated he was roofer and that a vent cap on the roof needed to be repaired. The victim paid the suspect $350. After the repair was completed, the suspect told the victim that he had overcharged her by $150 and wanted to refund her money.
When the victim produced her debit card and entered her PIN in the debit machine, the male and female suspects ran off with the debit card and withdrew $800 from the account.
On August 21, a Meighan Ave. resident said a man and woman showed up at her door asking for $300 to complete a vent-cap repair on her roof. After refusing to dole out the $300 the suspects asked for, the victim paid $50 with the promise that they would return to complete the work. The suspects never returned.
The following day, a Coleman Ave. resident reported that a male and female knocked on her door and the male suspect indicated he was a roofer and could repair a vent cap he said was in need of repair. Having heard about this neighbourhood scam, the victim told the suspects to leave before she called police.
“We have had about four or five of these occurrences in the same area in the last month,” said Det. Sgt. Jim Gotell. “In the last one, the woman was 93 years old. She didn’t fall for the scam because she was aware of it. This is becoming problematic and we are asking residents not to give these guys any money because they will take it and run.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-5504, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at 222tips.com text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637). Download the free Crime Stoppers Mobile App on iTunes, Google Play or Blackberry App World.
