Achi news desk-
North Yorkshire Police said York schools were visited by fraudsters on April 30, but luckily staff did not hand over any money.
The force said the ‘paint residue’ scam involves ‘workmen’ offering to paint parking lines or private zebra crossings.
On Thursday, May 2, a school in the Hambleton area was approached by a man claiming to work for the Highways Agency.
The police said that as part of his scam, he said he had “material left over for painting a line” and offered to fix some parking spaces and a zebra crossing on the school grounds.
After the job was done, the man demanded excessive payment for the work that was not up to par, the force said.
The payment was not made and he left the place.
The force said two very similar incidents took place at primary schools in York, but both times services were refused.
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A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: “The ‘paint left’ scam is used by criminals who offer vague verbal quotations at a low price and then charge inflated prices on completion of the work. They may make demands for payments.
“The work is often finished to a low standard with substandard materials. A variation on the scam is to offer resurfacing work.
“While on this occasion schools seem to be focused on, other organizations such as churches, hospitals, sports clubs and private businesses – anywhere that actually has parking lots – should be vigilant.”
He added: “The advice to both businesses and individuals is that if you want work done, please contact established companies or individuals who you can talk to again if something goes wrong and agree a price and a written contract.”
North Yorkshire Police said the suspect in the Hambleton incident was described as white but tanned, around 6ft tall and aged between 25-30.
He had straight white teeth and short blond hair with the front part covered up.
He was wearing a brand new yellow top without any branding, was driving an unmarked white van and had the right tools to do the job, police added.
Any organization or individual who has been offered a similar line painting job should contact their local Trading Standards team and North Yorkshire Police.
Anyone with information about the offenses in Hambleton or York should contact PC 1864 Fiona Wilding by email at [email protected] quoting reference 12240076720.
