New England Police District warn residents and business owners of travelling conmen offering labouring work

Often referred to as the asphalt scam, it involves cheap labour, usually bitumen laying or sometimes roofing, only to take off with cash before completing the service or carrying out shoddy work.

The men popped up at Inverell earlier this year, claiming to be contractors working for the council who had leftover materials from those jobs.

It now appears they have spread across the region with New England Police District Acting Commander Kylie Phillips urging the public to report any incidents with the people involved.

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"Anyone who believes they have been approached by these conmen are urged to collect whatever details possible - such as vehicle registrations - and pass them onto police as soon as possible," Ms Phillips said.

Since 2012 there have been reports of the scammers active around Armidale, Goondiwindi, Tamworth and Tenterfield.

NSW Fair Trading have sent out numerous warnings of the operation in the past.

It also warned that these scammers present extremely professionally, even with work vehicles and websites.

If a deposit is made, they often don't commence the job.

If they do perform the job, the service provided is of a substandard quality with watered down bitumen laid on poorly graded ground or bitumen dumped on the driveway.

The fraudsters will then demand substantially more money than initially quoted, resulting in residents paying a third party to remove the bitumen and even the substandard bitumen that was laid.

Residents who may be concerned about the legitimacy of their contractors can request to see a White Card, which all contractors and labourers in NSW are required to hold.

If a quote exceeds $5000 the tradesperson will also be required to show a contractor's licence.

"Contractors and labourers in NSW are required to hold a White Card, which you can request to see," Fair Trading states.

"These cards have also recently been digitised through the Service NSW app, so if the person does not have their physical copy you can request to see their digital copy.

"If they cannot supply either, that is a red flag."

You can keep up to date with the latest scams via www.scamwatch.gov.au

Residents can also report scams to the ACCC via the website or by calling 1300 795 995.

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