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Almost got scammed by a fake subcontractor last month in Tucson, here is how it went down | Contractors Hub - Discusd

Almost got scammed by a fake subcontractor last month in Tucson, here is how it went down

So back on the 12th of last month I'm bidding a small bathroom remodel in Tucson and this guy calls me up saying he's a licensed sub who can handle the tile and waterproofing for $2,200 flat. Seemed a little cheap but I was backed up so I told him to send his license number and insurance cert. He sends over a PDF that looks legit at first glance, COI and everything, but when I called the number on the certificate to verify, the insurance lady said that policy had been cancelled 8 months ago and the name did not match. Turns out he was just pulling a real contractor's info off the state website and slapping it on a fake doc. I reported him to the AZ ROC and they said they get calls like this almost daily now. If I had handed him a deposit or let him on the job site I would have been out cash and maybe had a lien filed against the property. Lesson is call the insurance company direct, do not just trust the paper. Has anyone else run into this in their area and do you have a better way to screen subs fast?

2 comments

2 Comments

andrewt4126d ago

Something nobody has mentioned yet is that these scammers are likely hitting the same handful of real contractors over and over. Think about it, the guy pulled a real license number off the state website, which means some legit tile guy in Arizona has no idea his name and policy info are being passed around to homeowners and GCs all over town. The fastest screen I have found is to skip the paper chase and call the ROC directly with the license number while the sub is still on the phone with you. Ask them to confirm the name on the license matches the guy calling and that it is active right then. If the sub gets weird about waiting two minutes for you to make that call, that tells you plenty. Also worth telling the real contractor whose info got stolen, because he is the one who ends up with complaints and lien messes tied to his name even though he never touched the job.

the_uma26d ago

Calling the ROC live is the move, catches fakes instantly.