Fake gas inspectors defrauded 5,000 expats throughout Spain
Sunday, May 25, 2014 @ 7:43 PM
BOGUS gas inspectors who swindled at least 5,000 residents have been arrested this week across the country.
Three have been caught on the Costa Blanca, four on the Costa del Sol, two in Madrid and 17 in the Balearic Islands – 26 in total – all of whom called round at houses on spec purporting to be from the gas board and charged up to 1,200 euros at a time for unnecessary inspections and maintenance.
They mainly targeted retired expats, typically British, German and Dutch residents – although given that numerous attempts by similar fraudsters over the years mean foreign homeowners are becoming wise to the scam, these criminal organisations are trying new methods to get money out of the public.
These include telephoning residents to arrange an appointment, and wearing clothes that resemble a gas board's uniform, as well as carrying fake ID.
They normally begin by telling the homeowner that a 'small' repair is needed to the gas bottle connections, and quote around 50 euros to fix it.
Then, whilst carrying out the 'work', they 'discover' more non-existent faults that need to be repaired, leading to the end cost coming to anything from 200 to 1,200 euros.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com