Dozens of cities in Quebec have been warning their citizens since the beginning of the month about potential scammers who are tirelessly going door-to-door selling fake services to break into your home.
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“Fraud alert! “The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) has informed the city of Lac-Mégantic that people with evil intentions are moving on our territory without a hiking permit,” warned the municipality of Estrie on its social networks last week.
The Journal found dozens of similar messages from cities or citizens across the province. Most often, authorities claim that these sellers offer vague services to improve your home's “energy efficiency” or sell a heat pump.
On January 19, citizens warned residents of Châteauguay, on Montreal's south shore, about these two peddlers. Screenshot of the Spotted page: Châteauguay
“ATTENTION! Currently, men in white helmets and yellow jackets are walking from door to door in the community. […] Please do not take any precautions. Please note that the city has not issued permits for street vending,” warned the village of Saint-Martin de Beauce in Chaudière-Appalaches on January 12.
A teenager hits her house
Marjolaine Thériaut, from Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville in Montérégie, told our representative that a few days ago she received a visit from a salesman about 16 years old.
“I spoke to him and told him he was probably working for a fraudster. I’ve lost count of the peddlers who come by to check attic insulation or alarm systems,” she explains.
The city of L'Île-Perrot also urged its residents to beware of fake employees.
“We have again received reports from citizens about unidentified and unlicensed vendors posing as city employees. A street vending permit is required to advertise at home,” she recalled on her Facebook page last week.
Fake Canada Post employee
In Mercier, on Montreal's south shore, authorities even reported a suspect who allegedly disguised himself as a Canada Post employee to go door-to-door.
“He mentions [résident] that he must deliver a letter and that a fee of $2.50 must be paid by credit card. “The suspect conducts the transaction through a terminal connected to an iPad and swaps the complainant’s credit card by giving him a fake card,” the city said Jan. 19.
Subsequently, several frauds occurred on the victim's account using the card stolen for the said transaction.
The Consumer Protection Board (OPC) again warned Quebecers last month about numerous itinerant traders in the energy sector. These salespeople knock on doors to sell heat pumps, solar panels and insulation services.
“The office recommends consumers never to sign such contracts on the same day, but rather to take time to think, check and compare,” warns the OPC.
How do you protect yourself from fraudulent door-to-door knocking?
- Compare prices and research the company you want to contract with
- Check your license to carry out the work in the register of license holders of the Régie du logement du Québec
- Check your mandatory travel business license with the OPC
- Check whether the company has any rulings against it
- If you enter into a contract with a traveling dealer, you have 10 days to cancel it
Source: Consumer Protection Agency
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