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Re-activateI heard a hard-luck story driving to work this morning. A 72-year-old man in the city of Yonkers, N.Y., where Consumer Reports is headquartered, was scammed by a couple of con artists posing as handymen, said the reporter on one of the all-news radio stations in the New York City.
As one of the perps kept the homeowner busy discussing an unsolicited repair job on his backyard fence, an accomplice smashed in the front door of the house and stole $2,000 in cash, jewelry, electronic gear, and other items, according to the The Journal News, a daily that covers the New York City suburbs.
This story of scamming handymen is nothing new, though usually the rip-off centers on a cheat performing shoddy work—driveway sealcoating, furnace fix-ups, window or roof repairs (common after a hurricane)—and getting away with a quick buck before you can spot the slapdash job.
If you'll need contractors for projects at your home, follow the advice in "Tools for hiring a handyman." As the story details, you've got plenty of work to do to find reliable, capable pros, but in the end you'll be happy you didn't take the easy way out.—Steven H. Saltzman
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