Has anyone ever heard of "Irish Travelers"? They are allegedly engaging in a driveway paving scam around the country. According to this article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Irish Travelers, also known as Tinkers, are a close-knit society similar to, but unrelated to, gypsies. They are known throughout the world for moving from city to city pulling home-improvement scams, often targeting the elderly."
Known throughout the world??? That's news to me. There are supposedly 30,000 or so just in the U.S. Anyone ever heard of them?
<H2>Scam artists may be working area, FBI says</H2>
By Torsten Ove, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Today's culturally sensitive Justice Department can't use the name officially, but FBI agents in Washington are hunting for Irish Traveler scam artists at work in Pittsburgh and other eastern cities.
These itinerant rip-off artists, described in an official bulletin only as "caucasians known to speak with an Irish accent," are operating a driveway paving scam.
It's simple: They post fliers in your neighborhood saying they're bonded and experienced, then do lousy or incomplete work and disappear with your money.
When you try to get your money back, you find their phone number disconnected and their business address doesn't exist.
"Homeowners have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result of these paving scams," said the FBI.
Victims of the scam or anyone with information about it are asked to call the FBI's toll-free number, 1-888-324-9800.
Jeff Killeen, local FBI spokesman, said he didn't know any specifics about victims in the Pittsburgh area, but the FBI in Washington believes the scammers are here or have been here recently.
"There are indications that they have been in this area," he said.
Debbie Weierman, spokesman for the Washington office, said the FBI has also issued bulletins for Washington, Chicago, Boston, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Richmond.
The agency issued a similar warning last year for Virginia and Maryland.
Typically, the pavers perform work that looks OK at first. But usually, they've applied such a thin layer of asphalt that it starts to crumble in a few months, and by that time the contractors are long gone. Sometimes they get paid up front and disappear after starting work.
Either way, it's a high-volume business, since most homeowners lose a few hundred dollars.
Irish Travelers, also known as Tinkers, are a close-knit society similar to, but unrelated to, gypsies. They are known throughout the world for moving from city to city pulling home-improvement scams, often targeting the elderly.
They trace their roots in America to the Irish potato famine of the 1840s, when many Irish came to the U.S. with few prospects and settled mostly in South Carolina and Georgia.
Since then, they've branched out across the country, usually living in mobile homes. Some estimates put their number at 30,000.
Traveler rings have been known to pull shoplifting scams or low-level fraud, but they seem to focus mainly on barn-painting, roofing and paving schemes.
In California and other western states, they have been known to offer roof coatings with special compounds to stop leaks or sunlight-reflecting substances for mobile homes to keep them cooler. In reality, Travelers don't do much labor beyond tramping around on the roof.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06238/716571-85.stmEdited by: Don Wassall
Known throughout the world??? That's news to me. There are supposedly 30,000 or so just in the U.S. Anyone ever heard of them?
<H2>Scam artists may be working area, FBI says</H2>
By Torsten Ove, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Today's culturally sensitive Justice Department can't use the name officially, but FBI agents in Washington are hunting for Irish Traveler scam artists at work in Pittsburgh and other eastern cities.
These itinerant rip-off artists, described in an official bulletin only as "caucasians known to speak with an Irish accent," are operating a driveway paving scam.
It's simple: They post fliers in your neighborhood saying they're bonded and experienced, then do lousy or incomplete work and disappear with your money.
When you try to get your money back, you find their phone number disconnected and their business address doesn't exist.
"Homeowners have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result of these paving scams," said the FBI.
Victims of the scam or anyone with information about it are asked to call the FBI's toll-free number, 1-888-324-9800.
Jeff Killeen, local FBI spokesman, said he didn't know any specifics about victims in the Pittsburgh area, but the FBI in Washington believes the scammers are here or have been here recently.
"There are indications that they have been in this area," he said.
Debbie Weierman, spokesman for the Washington office, said the FBI has also issued bulletins for Washington, Chicago, Boston, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Richmond.
The agency issued a similar warning last year for Virginia and Maryland.
Typically, the pavers perform work that looks OK at first. But usually, they've applied such a thin layer of asphalt that it starts to crumble in a few months, and by that time the contractors are long gone. Sometimes they get paid up front and disappear after starting work.
Either way, it's a high-volume business, since most homeowners lose a few hundred dollars.
Irish Travelers, also known as Tinkers, are a close-knit society similar to, but unrelated to, gypsies. They are known throughout the world for moving from city to city pulling home-improvement scams, often targeting the elderly.
They trace their roots in America to the Irish potato famine of the 1840s, when many Irish came to the U.S. with few prospects and settled mostly in South Carolina and Georgia.
Since then, they've branched out across the country, usually living in mobile homes. Some estimates put their number at 30,000.
Traveler rings have been known to pull shoplifting scams or low-level fraud, but they seem to focus mainly on barn-painting, roofing and paving schemes.
In California and other western states, they have been known to offer roof coatings with special compounds to stop leaks or sunlight-reflecting substances for mobile homes to keep them cooler. In reality, Travelers don't do much labor beyond tramping around on the roof.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06238/716571-85.stmEdited by: Don Wassall
