Scammers stealing thousands of dollars from Alabama concrete businesses

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – A brand new warning tonight about scammers who’re stealing a whole bunch of 1000’s of {dollars} of product from native concrete firms and they’re utilizing you to do it.

These with the Alabama Concrete Industries Affiliation (ACIA) say they began listening to about this explicit rip-off a number of years in the past in different states however they by no means anticipated it to hit Alabama. It began selecting up right here 3-4 months in the past and native concrete firms at the moment are dropping cash by the 1000’s.

The president of ACIA John Sorrell says they know of a minimum of $200,000 in pretend expenses. That’s $200,000 price of concrete principally stolen from concrete firms.

“I do know of two firms in Birmingham who each run three vans — what we name mother and pop firms — so it’s impacting the massive man simply as a lot because the small man,” stated Sorrell.

He says the newest rip-off is beginning primarily from Fb advertisements. It says they’re promoting concrete for affordable at round $100 per yard.

“Let’s say you have been pouring a patio and also you wanted six yards of concrete,” stated Sorrell. “They’d ship somebody to your home to gather cash for that six yards at $100 a yard so that they’d gather $600. The scammer would then decide up and name a neighborhood prepared combine firm in Birmingham and say, ‘We want six yards delivered to this handle’ and once they requested cost from the individual on the cellphone, they would supply them a bank card quantity.”

That bank card quantity can be stolen, he provides. So the concrete firm accepts the cost, delivers the concrete, and weeks later the bank card proprietor notices the cost and disputes it.

“At that time limit, the concrete’s been on the bottom for 3-4 weeks,” defined Sorrell. “The concrete firm actually has no potential to exit and get that concrete again. They’re simply required to eat this cash they’re dropping.”

Sorrell needs you to watch out the place you buy concrete from. He recommends reaching out to a licensed common contractor or on to a neighborhood concrete firm as an alternative of by social media. He provides that if the worth of one thing on a Fb advert appears too good to be true, it in all probability is.

The Alabama Regulation Enforcement Company is now investigating, based on Sorrell.

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