Residents warned of painting scam
By From staff reports
Published in News on November 12, 2012 1:46 PM
The Wayne County Sheriff's Office wants to make the public aware of a possible scam that is being attempted in the county.
On Nov. 7 a citizen reported hat he had a person approach him and talked to him about painting some of his barns.
The citizen reported that the person acted like he knew him but the citizen was sure he had never met the subject.
The suspect was reported to be slender white man driving a white Chevrolet pickup truck displaying South Carolina license plate.
The resident was suspicious and did not do any business with the suspect but he was able to get the license plate and reported it to the Sheriff's Office.
Detective Sgt. Rick Farfour contacted a South Carolina SLED Agent and he was able to confirm that the registered owner of the truck was a member of a group called the Irish Travelers that are partially based out of South Carolina.
This is a common scam. The suspect will approach a farmer about painting a barn. He will then give a fairly cheap price. The suspect will then use watered down paint, usually mixed with gasoline. He will then report to the citizen that the barn will need more coats of paint and will charge more. However many coats that is painted onto the barn it will all usually wash off with the first good rain.
The Wayne County Sheriff's Office has arrested other members of this group in the past.
In early 2011, warrants were issued on three of these members for stealing money from a lady in Wayne County. In that situation, two of the members talked to the citizen about buying some flooring while a third person sneaked in the house and stole some money.
The Sheriff's Office reminds residents to always be very cautious when dealing with any strangers that approach you unsolicited.