Possible Tucson scam targets contractors
Sep 5, 2012, 3:15 PM | Updated: 3:15 pm
Contractors nationwide are being warned about a possible scam from a business called U.S. Workmen.
Spokesman Nick LaFleur with the Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona said solicitors call contractors and offer a list of biddable jobs in their area, but they first need to collect a fee to do a background check.
“There’s a lot of contractors that have struggled to get work in the last few years, obviously because of the housing bust,” he said. “So they’re basically calling these contractors and saying, ‘Hey, I can give you a list of jobs you can bid on. All you have to do is pay $100.'”
LaFleur said contractors will pay the fee, but then never receive the list. When the Better Business Bureau tried to contact the company, they ran into a major snag.
“We’ve been unable to contact any management,” he said. “We do know that the address that they’re giving businesses, which is in Tucson, they’re not actually located there.”
LaFleur said his organization has received over 500 complaints about the possible scam since July.