The average victim is 76 years old. Scammers pose as roofers, show up uninvited at homes, and pressure residents into paying large sums for unnecessary or fraudulent work, in some cases deliberately damaging roofs themselves to manufacture a reason for costly repairs.
One North Seattle woman, Evelyn, a widow, nearly lost $34,000 to the scheme before a timely intervention stopped the payments.
"He was very well spoken, very nicely dressed. Loved his accent, which was Irish," Evelyn said of the man who came to her door.
He told her that her chimney "really was on the edge of destruction and needed to be taken down." Trusting his assessment, she handed over a $30,000 check and a $4,000 check.
Evelyn, whose husband David served in Special Forces in Vietnam and passed away two years ago, said she is still adjusting to navigating decisions without him.