A single Florida mother’s driveway was removed from her property without her knowledge as part of an overpayment scam after she listed her home for sale.
Amanda Brochu, a single mother, was targeted by the schemers shortly after putting her $289,000 house on the market in Apopka, Florida, in December.
How Brochu fell victim to an overpayment scam
She said that individuals began showing up at her address on Bethesda Street, attempting to measure her concrete driveway.
When Brochu confronted one of the contractors, he explained that a man named Andre had approached him for a quote to replace the driveway at her residence.
The contractor showed Brochu a text message confirming that the scammer agreed to a $7,200 quote to replace the entire driveway.
Andre reportedly backtracked on the illicit deal when they asked to pony up cash and proof of ownership.
After hearing the contractor’s tale, Brochu contacted the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, who attempted to reach out to Andre.
Initially, Andre denied any involvement in the scheme and hung up on the authorities.
However, later on, Andre claimed it was a mistake and provided the Sheriff’s Office with the contact information of the contractor, but actually ended up being the phone number of the Orlando airport.
The Sheriff’s Office assured the single mom that Andre had made a error and gotten the address wrong, and she wouldn’t have to deal with any other unknown contractors on her property.
Single Mom’s driveway ripped out in overpayment scam
Brochu thought that Andre’s disappearance concluded the unsettling ordeal, but just before she was about to leave town for the holidays, she got an unwelcome gift.
Brochu received a notification from her doorbell camera showing a construction crew outside her house demolishing the concrete.
She told a local news outlet that she returned home to find her driveway gone, with only unsightly dirt left behind.
With just weeks left before her planned move, the single mother knew she needed to get the driveway repaired in order to sell her home.
Brochu reached out to a company that quoted her $10,000 for a replacement.
The cost was thousands of dollars too much, after she had already racked up expenses preparing her home for sale.
The savvy mom turned to GoFundMe with the tale of her stolen driveway, which quickly made headline news.
Fortunately, after hearing about her plight, a Cox Media Group radio sponsor offered to replace her driveway at no charge.
She plans to pay forward her good fortune by donating the money she raised to a local charity.
What is an overpayment scam?
According to WFTV, Andre’s driveway scheme was actually targeting the contractor in an overpayment scam.
Typically, bad actors will use real estate site listings to target vacant homes.
They call contractor pretending to own the residence and agree on a price to do work on the home.
The contractor will send a check that is several thousand dollars over the quote, then call up the contractor requesting a refund.
Once the contractor sends the scammer the cash, the original check they sent will bounce.
In the end, the contractor will be out thousands of dollars and liable for unauthorized work on the home, which could cost them even more in time and money.
