While most building and home renovation contractors are honest, reliable professionals, con artists are not rare in the building industry. Dishonest people will use various methods to trick desperate people – here are the most common methods used by con artists in the construction business:

- Requesting payments for services that are never rendered – the most common scenario is when people show up at your door and they explain to you why you need their services, then they ask you to pay a certain sum and promise to come back later to do the job that they promised. There are many variations to the method, some alleged “roofers”, for example, would tell you that your roof is in a bad shape, then they would ask for money to buy the materials for repairing your roof and disappear with the money; Centennial roofers with integrity, like R4 Roofing and Exteriors, will never ask for money without a signed contract.

- Services of poor quality – another type of scam is when the alleged contractor does some work on your property, but it is of poor quality and you didn’t need it in the first place;

- Free home inspections – this scam works by generating fear. The con artist will tell you that there were a number of burglaries in your area and that he works for an insurance company that has a great offer for you. To benefit from the offer, you will need to let the person take a tour of your home to help him choose the best policy for you. While going from room to room, the con man will check the home for weak points, then he will observe your home and break in using those weak points while you are away.