A Word of Warning About Scammers

Today is March 1, 2024. I have a cousin whom I talk with daily which lives with her husband outside of Columbus Ohio. A few days ago, when we first spoke that day, she explained to me that they were tired. She went on to say the tornado sirens were blasting and that they spent the night in their basement taking cover. She told how one of the homes near by had lost its entire roof. We talked and I soon discovered that she and her husband were fine but tired.

She then went on to say something which greatly disturbed me. A man claiming to be a contractor wanted to go up on their roof and inspect it for damage. Mind you it was in the high twenties and there was snow. He asked her to sign a form that the insurance company deal with him directly, and then asked after she refused for her to sign that she would use him exclusively for her home repair needs stating she had six months to take action.

I am a general contractor/real estate broker, and I have been known to canvas neighbors advertising my services. However, I do not go immediately after a disaster strikes unless someone contacts me. Do not give anyone the right to deal directly with your insurance unless the scope of work has been determined and you have chosen to you them as you service provider.

I don’t know the name of the man or the company he claimed to be working with but I a reasonably sure he would have found damage caused by the storms winds and rains. She would have been on the hook for her deductible. I told her to explain to him I was on my way to do the repairs and for him to not return to their home unless he was contacted. (Which he never will be)

It is sad to think there are predators who go about larking for the opportunity to pounce on another, but the reality is there are and we must be aware of them.

If you live in an area which has suffer damages from weather then please take the following precautions:

• Learn to tell the difference between a contractor and a scammer.
• Ask for the state license number and look them up.
• Don’t respond to text, emails, calls, about free things being offered to you for allowing them to deal directly with your insurance provider.
• Hang up on robocalls
• Watch out for emails claiming to work with the government
• If you fell you have been victimized, contact your state Attorney General.

Note: Images on this blog site are from a free source or taken by the author. No image or group of photos is intended to represent the people the author serves. The author does not care about Race (that is a politically correct term that he does not like because we are all of the same Race, the Human Race. He prefers the term ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender, marital status, disability, genetic information, national origin, source of income, Veteran or military status, ancestry, citizenship, primary language or immigration status.) He is a service provider for all people. We will all rise together when we band together and help one another. Joseph Erwin is a Real Estate Broker, DRE # O2131799, and a CA general contractor # B 696662. He’s a member of the CRMLS and The East Valley Association of Realtors located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California.