Door-to-door construction scams return to Ottawa this spring [Video]

Ottawa police are warning homeowners to be vigilant this spring as door-to-door construction scams return to the region — a perennial problem that doesn’t seem to be going away. 

Det. Shaun Wahbeh said fraud investigators received a report of one of these alleged scams earlier this month, and he expects to hear about more. 

Wahbeh said the trend, which began about five years ago, tends to involve people coming to Canada from across the Atlantic and working illegally for cash. 

“So they’ll have thick Irish accents, some people will say Scottish accents, and usually they get migrant workers to do all the legwork,” Wahbeh explained. 

He said they typically follow the same pattern: A contractor will knock on a homeowner’s door and pitch repair work to …