Mar 112 min read

Air Duct Cleaning Scam Exposed! Don't Fall For This!

Scammers are now targeting homeowners through social media neighborhood groups for air duct cleaning deals that seem too good to be true. we have seen these on our Local Facebook pages almost daily. They often use very generic company names and posts from accounts that attempt to be made by genuine residents of the community. The post may not include the company name and often includes identical images and videos as other unrelated posts such as this one.

Once they get your attention, they will scam you one of two ways. The first way is they ask for a hefty deposit and personal information before disappearing with your money.

The other way is even scarier, they will use a Pakastanian call center to line up clients for someone who is not a certified or insured contractor and can be just a guy with a vacuum. yes, you heard that right. some people have even reported some of these "scam contractors" come with just an old vacuum and spend less than an hour and obviously did not do the job right by far, many times not even doing any work at all.

after the fake contractor comes to your house they pay a heavy percentage back to the Pakastanian scammers for lining up the service.

Even worse the fake contractors will demand to be paid in cash and not provide any receipt. when this happens they will not or avoid paying taxes, when this happens it takes money away from actual contractors who do pay taxes and have the proper certifications for this.

It's important to know the signs of all scams, not just those on social media.

Homeowners should be aware of some of the red flags to watch out for when it comes to air duct cleaning scams:

- The post says "This is not a scam."

- No company name is included in the post.

- The Facebook account is just a few days/weeks old.

- The Facebook profile has no followers, posts, or photos.

- The scammer uses words like "kindly."

It's easy to fall for these scams because we all want to save money and get things done quickly. But cheaper is not always better when it comes to air duct cleaning. Scammers often provide sub-par work or no work at all. some people have even reported some of these "scam contractors" come with just an old vacuum and spend less than an hour and obviously did not do the job right by far.

We will always recommend you make sure you hire a qualified contractor who is certified for the task. Look for a NADCA member in your area to ensure that the job is done right. If they are not NADCA member and have proper equipment stay clear!

Here is a video that talks about it more and goes into how deep this rabbit hole goes.

It goes even deeper and the scam has ties to Pakistan scam centers.