bitumen bandit

This is a shonky tradie operating in regional Australia where there is a demand for bitumen on roads near houses that would otherwise raise a lot of dust. The bitumen bandit arrives offering what seems to be a price that is too good to be true for putting down bitumen.  The price is often explained away as the result of having bitumen left over from another job.  The road is sealed, the price doubles and the bandit demands immediate payment of thousands of dollars.  It is later revealed that the quality is bad, there has been no care with the rest of the property and items may have gone missing.

This scam which has been very evident this year is said to have originated in Ireland.  So the advice is to beware of someone with an Irish accent offering you a cheap bitumen job for cash payment.