A Fish Creek area man is the apparent victim of a driveway sealing scam and is out about $540. The man told the Door County Sheriff’s Department that he was contacted by an individual who said he had excess driveway sealer product and offered to seal the driveway, and fill cracks, for 23 cents a square foot or $540. A two year warranty on all of the work was also provided. The victim agreed to the project and the three-person crew, including a young boy, filled cracks on the driveway and sprayed on the seal coat. A check changed hands and the suspect indicated that rain shouldn’t be a problem because the seal coat was oil based. However, about five minutes after the crew left, it began to rain and about two-thirds of the seal coat washed away. The victim tried to stop payment on the check, but was told it had already been cashed.
When an investigator did a background check on the suspect, he learned that the man’s Wisconsin drivers license was suspended and authorities were looking for him with two active warrants. A check of the estimate used for the job showed that the Green Bay address used was actually for U.S. Oil.
Meanwhile, a Door County man was just too quick for a couple of would-be “scammers” who called his home two days in a row this week. In both cases, the 77-year old local man hung up before the caller had a chance to make his pitch. The first caller indicated that the county resident had a discrepancy with his computer that needed to be attended to. The second caller said he had been selected to receive cash rewards. The caller, said to have a thick accent, never got a chance to try to wheedle personal information or money out of the local man who contacted WDOR to let us know that the scam artists were at work.
Local law enforcement says the calls usually emanate in a foreign country and, once money changes hands, it is close to impossible to get it back. The best thing to do is to follow the lead of the Door County man and hang up if the call sounds “fishy.”
