Thursday, February 26, 2026
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.
"I am still getting used to not having his wise ness with me about things that I don't know about," she said.
Her instincts eventually kicked in.
"I just got suspicious and thought I need to find out more about this before they go forward," Evelyn said.
She called a friend, who contacted police and reached Chris and Debra Young, longtime family friends connected to Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 423.
Chris Young, who has helped Evelyn and her late husband for a decade, moved quickly. He blocked a worker's vehicle from leaving the scene while his wife Debra called 911.
"The scam was just ridiculous,” Young said.
