Tarmac scam
The tarmac scam is a confidence trick in which criminals sell fake or shoddy tarmac (asphalt) and driveway resurfacing. It is particularly common in Europe but practiced worldwide.[1][2] Other names include tarmacking, the asphalt scam, driveway fraud or similar variants. Non-English names include "Truffa dell'asfalto" (Italian), "Teerkolonne" (German) and "les faux bitumeurs" (French).[3][4][5]
Method[]
A conman typically goes door-to-door, claiming to be a builder working on a contract who has some leftover tarmac, and offering to pave a driveway at a low cost.[2][6]
The paving is in fact often simply gravel chippings covered with engine oil,[2] or not the right depth and type of materials to form a lasting road surface.[3] Milk has been used to make a fake sealant.[7][8]
The conmen may target elderly, vulnerable residents,[9][10][11] and claim to be official contractors working on roadworks to add credibility.[12] Reported escalation has included increasing the cost, claiming that the job has required more material than expected, and making threats.[13][14][15]
Irish crime reporter Eamon Dillon, an expert on the gangs involved, interviewed a builder who worked with a gang who said that they had custom-built lorries which could never do a proper job: "a proper tarring lorry will have sixty jets, our tar lorries have eight".[3] In another case, the equipment was rented in Romania and then never returned.[1] Another gang used a lorry with Highways Agency branding.[13]
Criminals[]
Tarmac fraud is particularly associated with the Rathkeale Rovers and other gangs from the Irish traveller community.[16][17][1][18] The organiser of the scheme may lead a gang of low-paid workers,[3] or human trafficking victims.[19][20][8] Cases have been reported since the 1980s.[9][21][22][23]
The relative mundanity of tarmacking may have made it a low priority for law enforcement.[2][8] Dillon has estimated that the scheme may earn up to $140m a year[2] and that in 2010 there were 20 gangs active in Italy alone, earning €2 million a week.[24]
References[]
- ^ a b c Dillon, Eamon. "'From Africa to Iceland, Norway to New Zealand, Rathkeale Rovers' Travellers have dealt in everything from tarmac to rhino horn'". Sunday World. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Homans, Charles. "The Dead Zoo Gang: On the trail of international horn thieves". Atavist. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d Dillon, Eamon (2013). Gypsy empire: uncovering the hidden world of Ireland's Travellers. London. pp. 204–213. ISBN 9781848271692. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ Willsher, Kim; Carroll, Rory. "Eight men convicted in French court for trafficking rhino horn and ivory". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ "Les faux "bitumeurs irlandais" enrobent de nouvelles victimes". L'Indépendant. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ Mead, Matthew. "Tarmac Scam Operating in North Shropshire". Hugo Fox. Bomere Heath & District Parish Council. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ "Tomney family from Cleveleys jailed for driveway fraud". BBC. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ a b c Day, Tim. ""What's going on 'ere, then?" An empirical exploration of the anatomy of rogue trading incidents". University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ a b Mandelstam, Michael (2013). Safeguarding adults and the law (2nd ed.). London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 9780857006264. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ "Stanleys convicted in paving scams". Nashua Telegraph. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ Alt, Betty Sowers (2004). Fleecing grandma and grandpa : protecting against scams, cons, and frauds. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. ISBN 9780275981792. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ "Tarmac scam". Construction News. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ a b Penman, Andrew. "Meet the conman who took the old driveway resurfacing scam to new lows". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ "Tarmac Scam Warning". News.wales. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ "Tarmac scam artists continue". Irish Farmers Journal. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ Higginbotham, Adam (2 January 2014). "The Irish Clan Behind Europe's Rhino-Horn Theft Epidemic". Retrieved 5 March 2014.
- ^ Foy, Ken. "From rhino horn theft to tarmac scams and now forged Covid test results – the Rathkeale Rovers gang's criminal reach extends worldwide". Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ Dillon, Eamon. "Arrest warrants issued for Irish trio in France after being convicted over tarmacking scam". Sunday World. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ Simpson, John; Schlesinger, Fay. "British men trafficked abroad by slave gangs". The Times. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ Holt, Alison. "British men forced into 'modern slavery' abroad". BBC News. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ "Gypsy Paver Season Here". Michigan Roads & Construction. 5 June 1980. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ "Gang in pounds 2m tarmac fraud jailed". The Independent. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ "Honours for work of police officers". Gazette and Herald. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ Dillon, Eamon. "Irish travellers from Rathkeale hit Italian and French householders in tarmac scam". Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- Confidence tricks
- Asphalt
- Road construction
- Pavements