by Shari Randall
Whenever an aspiring author asks me for advice, I always encourage them to join Sisters in Crime. This organization offers tremendous support at every point in the writer's journey and one of the best things they do is offer classes and workshops in everything from craft to criminal behavior. I attended a class recently that gave me lots of good ideas. Plot ideas, that is.
The Chesapeake Sisters in Crime recently hosted a zoom with a detective from Northern Virginia whose specialty is scams, identity theft, and fraud, especially those that target senior citizens. There I learned about woodchucks.
“Woodchuck” is a nickname police have for criminal gangs that target homeowners with scams that include fake home repairs and yard work that is not done or done in a shoddy manner. The detective took us deep into the operation and mindset of these criminals, especially in terms of risk vs. reward.
A bank robber can get quite a bit of money, but if they’re caught, and especially if violence or weapons were used in the crime, their jail time can be extensive. Big reward but big risk. On the other hand, the woodchuck’s fake home repair scams have low risk because the crime rarely involves violence. The reward however can be substantial, making these crimes common.
The woodchuck’s preferred victims? Unfortunately, the elderly.
How do woodchucks operate? The woodchuck cases an area looking for an established neighborhood with mature trees and few children. Why? Because these are neighborhoods where older folks live – their children are gone and often a widow or widower lives alone. These members of “the greatest generation” were raised to be polite – they answer the door when a stranger knocks. They were raised to believe that their word is their bond – they’ll seal a business deal with a handshake. They pay by check or in cash. Speaking of cash, people who went through the Depression are savers, and therefore they have plush bank accounts. They’re lonely. Their kids live far away. They may warm to a friendly person who has all the time in the world to chat.
All these things make them perfect targets for the woodchuck’s scams.
In a typical scenario, the woodchuck will knock on the door and point out that a tree branch is hanging dangerously close to the house. While they take down the “dangerous” tree branch, they’ll note that there’s a hole in the roof that needs to be fixed and they’ll take care of that, too. Other work that the older person can’t inspect is suggested. Pretty soon the trusting homeowner is writing checks for work that may or may not be necessary or is done in a shoddy manner, such as black paint applied to a driveway instead of sealant.
Because the older person wants to remain independent, they will be relieved that there’s a handyman on call. Soon they’re forgetting how many checks they’ve written to the woodchuck. When a neighbor or family member starts to ask questions, the woodchuck disappears, having drained the mark’s bank account.
Many of these scams are never reported. The victim is embarrassed or unaware that they’ve been scammed, and police departments, stretched to the limit, don’t have the staff to investigate these generally nonviolent crimes.
As far as writing goes, it will be very satisfying to serve one of these woodchucks their just desserts.
How can you protect yourself? The officer gave us these tips.
when hiring contractors:
Ask for licenses.
Look for referrals.
Contact your local government – they can give you licensing and permit information.
Legitimate businesses will have signs on their vehicles and show you their licenses and insurance.
Go to their workplace.
Remember, you don’t have to answer your door, and “I’ll think about it” is a powerful phrase.
Have you heard about these kinds of scams?
