Area police and the Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s Office are warning residents about some recent scams. The local scammers may be appearing right at your front door. The other scams are regarding online scams.
Recently, the Strongsville Police reported that there was a suspicious white pickup truck with Georgia license plates. They pulled into a driveway in the area of Boston Road and asked the resident if he wanted an estimate to pave his driveway. North Royalton Police posted this on their Facebook feed, warning residents that this type of action usually results in a scam, when the suspects try to collect the money up front and then do not do the work. It can also be a distraction burglary. The Facebook post noted that a similar incident with a white truck took place in Bedford.
“The males asked if he wanted an estimate on a new driveway. The way these roving scammers do their dastardly deeds is to first give an estimate. The estimate is usually much lower than the actual job should be. The victim is usually so excited by saving so much money, they see no problem with paying for half the job in advance,” according to the Bedford police post on Facebook.
Recently, DeWine’s office warned residents to beware of home rental scams. “The Ohio Attorney General’s Office has received more than 40 reports about the scams in 2017, and summer is a peak time for moving and traveling,” according to a press release. “In a typical rental scam, a con artist posts an ad online offering a house or apartment for rent. When interested consumers respond to the ad, the con artist tells them to send a deposit. Later, the consumers discover that the rental ad was phony and the con artist had no affiliation with the property. Reported losses have ranged from $250 to $5,000 . . . If someone’s asking you to wire a deposit for a property you’ve never seen in person, there’s a good chance it’s a scam.”
According to Dewine’s office:
“Signs of the scam include:
Requests for payment via wire transfer, money order, prepaid card, or gift card.
Ads offering below-market rates on houses or apartments.
Rental ads offering properties that are listed for sale on other websites.
Landlords who offer to rent to you immediately, without checking your credit.
Requests for you to wire money before you’ve seen the property.
Landlords who claim they’re out of the country for business or missionary work.
To avoid scams:
Be wary of requests for wire transfers, money orders, prepaid money cards, or gift cards. These are preferred payment methods for scammers, because once payment is provided, it is nearly impossible to recover.
Be skeptical of ads offering below-market rates on houses or apartments. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Check the county auditor’s website to determine who owns the property. Be aware that scam artists may pretend to be the true owner.
Don’t send any money until you’ve seen a property in person and/or verified that the person communicating with you is truly who he or she claims to be.
Be wary of landlords, property owners, or real estate professionals who say they had to leave the country quickly for business or missionary work. These kinds of claims are made often by scam artists.
Be wary of landlords or property managers who offer to rent property to you without gathering any information from you, such as your credit score or a background check.
Copy and paste an image from an online listing into a search engine to determine if it has appeared elsewhere online.
Read and follow the scam prevention tips provided by any house or apartment-searching websites you use.”
To report a scam or learn more about other scams, call Dewine’s office at 800-282-0515, or visit his website, www.OhioProtects.org.

By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer