We’re urging Victorians to be on the lookout for fake VicRoads workers offering to fix driveways or line marking on private property.
We’ve been alerted to six cases of people being scammed across Melbourne with the fake workers targeting businesses and homes in areas including Craigieburn, Frankston and Langwarrin.
In the most serious case, two men claiming to be working for VicRoads and displaying fake VicRoads identification, knocked on the door of a house in Langwarrin and told the property owner they were selling ‘left over’ asphalt from nearby construction projects and offered to fix the driveway.
The owner agreed to the work, and within minutes trucks and rolling machines arrived. The owner paid $20,000 and was presented with a fake invoice with the company name ‘Vic Road Marking Pty Ltd’.
The scam is elaborate with the men not only using fake VicRoads branded identification – they are also driving a fake VicRoads branded Mazda ute.
In several other incidents, men claiming to be employed by VicRoads displaying fake identification targeted medical clinics offering to perform line marking in their car parks.
Department of Transport Executive Director for Metro South East, Vince Punaro, said the incidents were concerning and warned people to be vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour to Victoria Police immediately.
“Our staff never perform work on private property, and they certainly don’t go from door-to-door offering to do asphalting or line marking.”
“These incidents are very concerning and we would encourage anybody who suspects they may have been a victim of these scams to report it to Victoria Police immediately.”
If people are considering having work done on their properties, we urge them to visit the Consumer Affairs Victoria website for advice.
Source: VicRoads