SCAM ALERT: Police warn of ‘fraudulent roofing and construction scammers’; at least one West Seattleite hit

Seattle Police have issued a citywide alert about scammers offering roof repairs, and we have one such report from a West Seattleite. First, here’s the SPD alert:

Seattle police detectives urge community members to be wary of fraudulent roofing and construction scammers that recently stole $74,000 from a Seattle resident.

On Oct. 27, a 53-year-old developmentally delayed victim living near the Ravenna neighborhood was approached by a man named “Frank,” asking if he wanted an estimate for a new roof. He then scammed the victim into writing him checks for $74,000 for a new roof.

“Frank” and his accomplice “Mark” have New York-style accents, and claim to work for Lakeside Roofing and Masonry.

After getting the money, the suspects dug a trench along the victim’s house under the guise of a cracked foundation. They also began deconstructing the victim’s roof under the guise of a potentially dangerous chimney.

The victim fears retaliation from the suspects for calling the police, as the suspects remain active in Seattle. Detectives are urging residents to be wary of anyone soliciting them for roofing, construction, or masonry work. They recommend the following tips to avoid being scammed:

-Get at least three estimates from different roofing companies.
-Don’t pay more than 1/3 of the agreed upon price upfront. Don’t pay anything more until the job is complete.
-Always ask for a written contract before any work is done, and only if the contractor needs it to purchase materials.
-Check the Better Business Bureau to confirm their legitimacy.
-Check with the Department of Revenue to ensure they have a Unified Business Identifier number.
-Ask for photos of jobs they’ve completed and check for their Yelp or Google ratings.
-Call 911 if they try to go onto your roof without permission.
-If elderly people are living alone, tell the scammers they need to speak with their adult children before making any decisions.
-Don’t feel pressured into making quick financial decisions.
-If you’re being told to give them money or their roof will suffer damages, call 911.

Doing some due diligence will help deter the scammers from returning and asking for money.

Detectives in the General Investigations Unit are actively working this case. Anyone that may have fallen victim to these scams are asked to call 911, or the SPD Non-Emergency Line at 206-625-5011.

We’ve received one such report in West Seattle – Linda says this happened to a friend of hers last weekend:

Two people stopped at my friend’s house to let him know they were in the neighborhood working on a roof and said they saw something flapping on his roof which they could fix it for $20 (basically being very friendly and helpful). My friend gave them the go ahead as well as the $20.

Both individuals then proceeded to go up on the roof. When my friend heard a noise, he climbed up the ladder to see what was going on. He found one individual working as a lookout while the other one was causing actual damage to the roof. The “roofers” stopped at that point and came down off the roof. My friend did not get a license plate number or any information which he could use to report this to the police. So he’s now looking at a roof repair which will cost much more (but won’t be done by these scammers).

Per the SPD advice, even if you don’t have specifics like plate numbers, call police.

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