A stranger knocks on your door claiming they noticed something wrong with your roof, your driveway, your trees, or your gutters. They offer a “today only” deal and ask for cash or a check upfront. They are not licensed. They are not insured. The work they do — if any — will fail. Maryland law requires home improvement contractors to be licensed. A 30-second check protects you.
How This Scam Works
A man — sometimes two men — pulls into your driveway in a pickup truck. He knocks on your door. He says he was working on a neighbor’s house and noticed your roof has missing shingles, your driveway needs sealing, your tree limbs are dangerously close to power lines, your gutters are full, or your siding has hail damage. He offers to fix it today, while his crew is in the area, at a “great price.”
He pressures you to decide right now. He needs cash or a check upfront, often half or all the money before he starts. Some run one of three patterns: they take the deposit and never return; they do shoddy work that fails within months; or they manufacture additional “problems” once they are on your property and run the bill up to ten times the original quote.
These scams surge after every major storm in Maryland — derechos, hurricanes, hail events, ice storms. Scammers drive through neighborhoods looking for damaged homes, then prey on older adults living alone. Maryland law requires home improvement contractors performing work over $500 to be licensed by the Maryland Home Improvement Commission. You can verify any contractor’s license in 30 seconds at Maryland Home Improvement Commission license search.
What They Actually Say
A Real Pattern
Maryland Home Improvement Commission · Annual Pattern
The Maryland Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division and the Maryland Home Improvement Commission have repeatedly warned that storm-chasing contractors flood Maryland neighborhoods after derechos, hurricanes, hail, and ice storms. They target older adult homeowners living alone, prey on the urgency of damaged property, and disappear with cash deposits before any work is verified. The Maryland Home Improvement Commission license search lets any homeowner verify a contractor’s credentials in 30 seconds at dllr.state.md.us.
What To Do · What To Never Do
After You Close The Door
This guide covers one of 222 documented scams targeting Maryland’s older adults. Every variant we track lives in the encyclopedia, searchable by name, situation, or what they said to you.
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