GREENFIELD — It might not be a “Nigerian prince” requesting financial help with a promise of being handsomely rewarded later, but that social media post about a special on air duct cleaning should still give one pause.

The Greenfield Police Department took to Facebook last week to warn people about an abundance of online scammers pretending to offer duct-cleaning services at impossibly low prices. Deputy Police Chief William Gordon, who handles the department’s social media posts, said this appears to be one of the latest trends in internet fraud.

“There’s so many scams out there, so this is just another,” he said.

Gordon said he shared a warning post from ductcleaning.org because he noticed a couple people engaging with sketchy Facebook profiles on Everything Greenfield’s uncensored page, which he called “a haven for scams.” He advises that if a home improvement project offer sounds too good to be true, that’s because it probably is.

April Yungen, president of the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA), said these scams come in two versions. There is one in which the scammer requests money up front and then vanishes, and another where a person actually performs the task but delivers shoddy, substandard work. But, she said, there are “red flags” people can look for when they seen a post pertaining to duct cleaning.

Most online scams post from newer social media accounts and appear on questionable pages they recently join. Yungen explained scammers usually post stock photos of duct cleanings from the internet (though some of the craftier ones steal images from legitimate companies and remove any branding or logos) and simply copy and paste generic text in the post. A reputable company, she said, will have a proper website, email address and phone number, and the person who picks up on the other line won’t sound like a telemarketer.

“They have a script, and they don’t know what to do when you go off script,” she said.

Yungen, an air systems cleaning specialist and certified ventilation inspector who has been in the industry nearly 30 years, said the scammers that actually show up at someone’s home often do a lousy job that can make a situation worse. She said their tactics can confuse any layperson.

“Really what they’re doing is cleaning what the consumer can see,” she said, adding that this can agitate the contaminants in the duct.

Yungen also said scam artists often use their visits to pull more schemes, such as telling unsuspecting homeowners urgent work is needed to remove dangerous mold.

“Generally speaking, duct cleaning is important but not an emergency,” she said, adding that there is always time to research a quality cleaner.

The association president also said fraudsters have ratcheted up this scam over the past few years. She believes the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened people’s awareness about the importance of air quality and, therefore, made some more vulnerable to schemes targeting their respiratory health.

Anyone in need of a legitimate duct-cleaning service can visit the association’s website at nadca.com and enter their ZIP code to see a list of their nearest NADCA members, all of whom Yungen said have pledged a code of ethics.

“This problem is widespread,” she said. “People are fighting it in their area every day.”

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.

]]>