Better Business Bureau’s Scam Tracker shows several reports of people using social media to advertise lawn care services in the Treasure Valley. The price looks really low, but there’s much more to the story, and this story ends with people losing money.
It starts with a post on Facebook Marketplace or NextDoor; someone offering lawn mowing and landscape services at a rock-bottom price. If you reach out to the person behind the ad, they tell you they need a deposit to schedule the service. People who pay the deposit never hear from the person again. No mower shows up. When reaching out, the person finds themselves blocked or the account gone. The payment was requested outside of Facebook Marketplace so there’s little to no recourse in getting the money back.
So, for someone wanting to hire yard clean up or mowing, what should they do?
First, never pay up front to set an appointment. That’s where we see people lose money.
Second, research the company and understand the complexity of your project sets the standard for the skill level required and amount of research you need to do. If it’s simple lawn mowing, there may be a kid in the neighborhood who doesn’t have any customer reviews. But you know how to find her/his parents. If it’s a full-fledged mowing company, there should be info online you can see.
Third – get it in writing, even if it is the neighbor kid.
For more info on avoiding scams, head to BBB.org.
