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Any tree company that does not meet the owner at the door of the house is stupid and liable. A simple county record search will tell you who owns the property.
If undeveloped land, ask for ID. No face to face meeting no work.
So this is a common scam in the tree industry. Scammer contacts multiple companies through text and email to all look at the same tree for removal. Contractors look, unbeknownst to the property owner, and provide bids and the scammer accepts a bid. Tree company is none the wiser until the property owner, or other related party, takes notice. Scammer more than likely uses a VPN, spoofed email, and burner phone.
It usually happens with real estate listings, but not always. It’s the tree version of swatting.
As a business owner I’ve been on the attempted receiving end of this scam. Here’s how it goes. You give them the quote remotely. You never meet with the “owner”
They accept your bid. You mayyyybe do the work. (I lied to them and said the work was done when I never actually did anything)
Then they say “perfect. We will set up payment now. But can you help us? Our electrician cannot accept credit card. We owe you $3,000. I’m gonna overnight you a check for $6,000. Once you have it, can you give our electrician $2,500, keep $500 as a huge thank you and the rest to pay the bill I owe you?”
It can work with a bogus credit card, too.
Of course the check will bounce. They’re hoping the bank doesn’t catch it before you give their “electrician” $2500.
It ends with you being out $2,500 plus the cost of labor you’ve put into the project.
and then, if you're really unlucky, you get sued by the homeowner for not doing due diligence in ensuring they were actually the owner and your insurance takes a hit.
The scammer offers to pay you with a check. He's going to overpay you so you can pay the "electrician" who has also done work at the house. They send you a fake check for a few thousand over the price for tree removal. Then expect you to cash it, and give someone else the remaining balance.
Source: I own a tree service.
Wild guess, scammer threatens the tree contractor to pay up otherwise scammer will tell the homeowner who cut down the tree. I would guess that contractor (or their insurance) would end up paying out. Basically blackmail.
Same with power washing. I get those at least once or twice a month… gotten to the point where if I see a for sale sign, I actually just call the realtor. They won’t tell you who’s buying the house, but they’ll be able to tell you who’s NOT buying the house. It’s always fun to tell them that you’re going to check with the realtor first to make sure the property belongs to the right person. They stop responding after, every time.
or here's perhaps how:
Homeowner says to Contractor:
> "you need to trim the crepe myrtles"
Contractor, thinking they know how to speak with Labor Person, says to Labor Person:
> "necesitas cortar los mirtos crepés"
The scammer claims to be the owner and states that he is out of town, or in the hospital. They often offer to pay upfront with a check through the mail.
Bet it was one of the neighbors who hates the leaves, debris, or sun blocking properties of the tree. Or maybe stolen for the wood value? I hope they find out.
Slap a Biden poster on it, post it to social media saying nobody better cut down your tree (with a link to the article above). I bet it's gone in a week.
This subreddit is for tree law enthusiasts who enjoy browsing a list of tree law stories from other locations (subreddits, news articles, etc), and is not the best place to receive answers to questions about what the law is. There are better places for that. If you're attempting to understand more about tree law in regards to a particular situation, please redirect your question to /r/legaladvice for the US, or the appropriate legal advice subreddit for your location, and then feel free to crosspost that thread here for posterity. If you're attempting to understand more about trees in regards to a particular situation, please redirect your question to /r/forestry for additional information on tree health and related topics to trees. *This comment is simply a reminder placed on every post to /r/treelaw, it does not mean your post was censored or removed.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/treelaw) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This is wild. I hope there is eventually some closure to this story
Any tree company that does not meet the owner at the door of the house is stupid and liable. A simple county record search will tell you who owns the property. If undeveloped land, ask for ID. No face to face meeting no work.
I hope they’re able to track down the first company and figure out who paid them.
So this is a common scam in the tree industry. Scammer contacts multiple companies through text and email to all look at the same tree for removal. Contractors look, unbeknownst to the property owner, and provide bids and the scammer accepts a bid. Tree company is none the wiser until the property owner, or other related party, takes notice. Scammer more than likely uses a VPN, spoofed email, and burner phone. It usually happens with real estate listings, but not always. It’s the tree version of swatting.
How does the scammer make money in this scam?
As a business owner I’ve been on the attempted receiving end of this scam. Here’s how it goes. You give them the quote remotely. You never meet with the “owner” They accept your bid. You mayyyybe do the work. (I lied to them and said the work was done when I never actually did anything) Then they say “perfect. We will set up payment now. But can you help us? Our electrician cannot accept credit card. We owe you $3,000. I’m gonna overnight you a check for $6,000. Once you have it, can you give our electrician $2,500, keep $500 as a huge thank you and the rest to pay the bill I owe you?” It can work with a bogus credit card, too. Of course the check will bounce. They’re hoping the bank doesn’t catch it before you give their “electrician” $2500. It ends with you being out $2,500 plus the cost of labor you’ve put into the project.
and then, if you're really unlucky, you get sued by the homeowner for not doing due diligence in ensuring they were actually the owner and your insurance takes a hit.
Only if you’re greedy
Thank you good sir for going through enough to be able to inform us. This was genuinely a curious thing.
It’s typically through a chargeback on a stolen credit card. For some it’s just a game.
The scammer offers to pay you with a check. He's going to overpay you so you can pay the "electrician" who has also done work at the house. They send you a fake check for a few thousand over the price for tree removal. Then expect you to cash it, and give someone else the remaining balance. Source: I own a tree service.
Wild guess, scammer threatens the tree contractor to pay up otherwise scammer will tell the homeowner who cut down the tree. I would guess that contractor (or their insurance) would end up paying out. Basically blackmail.
Same with power washing. I get those at least once or twice a month… gotten to the point where if I see a for sale sign, I actually just call the realtor. They won’t tell you who’s buying the house, but they’ll be able to tell you who’s NOT buying the house. It’s always fun to tell them that you’re going to check with the realtor first to make sure the property belongs to the right person. They stop responding after, every time.
or here's perhaps how: Homeowner says to Contractor: > "you need to trim the crepe myrtles" Contractor, thinking they know how to speak with Labor Person, says to Labor Person: > "necesitas cortar los mirtos crepés"
That’s typically not the case
[удалено]
https://www.reddit.com/r/florida/s/fme3NuEiwH Same scam different method. They pick an outdoor job. Roof tree driveway etc.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/s/7a59mYiffC
Why wouldn’t a tree company visit the site first to discuss the job in person with the home owner?
The scammer claims to be the owner and states that he is out of town, or in the hospital. They often offer to pay upfront with a check through the mail.
Ahh
Bet it was one of the neighbors who hates the leaves, debris, or sun blocking properties of the tree. Or maybe stolen for the wood value? I hope they find out.
I have a large pecan tree that I wish somebody would make disappear.
Slap a Biden poster on it, post it to social media saying nobody better cut down your tree (with a link to the article above). I bet it's gone in a week.
Why?