Rockland County warns residents of contractor scams

The county's Office of Consumer Protection wants people to be wary considering now is the time of year that homeowners are looking to make improvements to their property.

Diane Caruso

Mar 11, 2024, 10:35 PM

Updated 214 days ago

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Rockland County is warning residents of scams that are coming right to your door following a incident earlier this month caught on home surveillance video.
The county's Office of Consumer Protection wants people to be wary considering now is the time of year that homeowners are looking to make improvements to their property.
News 12 spoke with Kimberly Von Ronn, the director of Rockland County's Office of Consumer Protection, on Monday in New City.
"We have some gypsy paver companies that are coming around, unsolicited, looking to do driveways, to repave or to seal," said Von Ronn. "They're unlicensed and their intention is to scam homeowners out of several thousand dollars without actually doing the work."
Her warning comes after a video caught a scammer going door-to-door, telling one homeowner that they would fix the driveway. The man did not fall victim to it.
An inspector with the agency went door-to-door Monday afternoon in the neighborhood on a mission to tell others to be cautious.
The inspector handed out a photo of the man from the video and a pamphlet with ways they can protect themselves from becoming a victim.
Von Ronn says someone in Orangetown lost $55,000 for roof work that was not completed last fall.
The office recommends people to be wary of workers coming to your door unsolicited, get a written contract, do not pay until the job is done and check the contractor's license with the county's consumer protection agency.
Another red flag is an out of state license plate. The vehicle in the recent incident was shown to be from Illinois.
Von Ronn wants would be scammers to know this: "We're out here. You may be hiding in plain sight but we have patrol officers, the support of the local police department, and the sheriff's department to make sure that you are not scamming Rockland home owners."
Those in the video recently paid the Office of Consumer Protection a $3,000 fine, while also facing a misdemeanor charge in Clarkstown town court.