Scammers with Irish or British accents are going door to door in the East Bay as part of an international ring, offering to conduct home repairs they claim are urgent and pressuring residents to pay thousands of dollars in cash on the spot, authorities said.
Berkeley police issued an alert last week warning residents to be on guard for the “sophisticated and aggressive” home-repair scam being run by fraudulent contractors. Older adults, officials said, were most at risk.
“This is a predatory crime that exploits the trust of our most vulnerable neighbors,” said Sgt. Jeremy Lathrop of the Berkeley Police Department. “We urge all residents to talk to their elderly family members and neighbors about these tactics.”…