“Dear PoPville,
There is a local scam going around that has now appeared on several listserves I’ve been on. A person joins a listserve claiming to be a member of the group, e.g. “a 20-something who attends XXX congregation,” then claims that they have a “group rate” for HVAC cleanings of $150. There is indeed a company that shows up and does something if you sign up, but it is tantamount to doing nothing and they are misleading about what services they provide. The original poster then tries to pressure you into signing more people up for the pyramid scheme. More details below.
Update — someone else I talked to about this scam who is also in the DMV said: “I noticed this scam on my block’s listserv and the police department’s announcement listserv I’m on.” So it is apparently really getting around.
Hi all,
Just want to flag for people that this email from “Lisa” was basically a scam. I’ll explain more below, but TL;dr, don’t do this. If you have already written to “Lisa,” make up an excuse to get out of it and look up real HVAC companies instead if you really want a vent cleaning.
Full story: I was interested in this, so I contacted “Lisa” and was asked for my address and phone number, then got a call from the HVAC company. They implied the $150 would cover a 1.5 hour cleaning.
When the techs arrived, they did a cursory “inspection” that looked like them glancing at vents, then declared that they would really need to do a deep cleaning for $250 or $300. I said nope, no thanks, I only need the $150 cleaning, that’s what we agreed to on the phone. But that “basic” cleaning was not 1.5 hours. It was just them bringing in a giant vacuum that they attached to one vent and ran for 15-20 minutes.
The “techs” who came also insisted that HVAC vents need to be cleaned yearly. They do not. Real HVAC experts will acknowledge this is something that only needs to be done every few years, if at all, and also that real cleaning is usually more expensive but also much more involved and thorough.
So I looked up HVAC cleaning online. It is a real industry, but it’s full of scammers. I sent “Lisa” an email with some notes about my experience. Instead of getting a reply that acknowledged my email at all, I got one that made it clear I was being scammed, with pressure con more people into this pyramid scheme:
“As you know, both you and I have already signed up for the service. The provider is offering us a special group rate, which normally requires 4 homes. Since it’s just the two of us right now, we still need 2 more homes to fully qualify for the group rate. If you happen to know anyone maybe friends, neighbors, or family who might be interested, whether nearby or even in other cities like TX, FL, CA, CO, WA, or AZ, they can also take advantage of this offer. The company operates nationwide and will provide the same great service and pricing that we’re getting.”
So this was a multi-step scam, involving creating a fake email address and persona, identifying appropriate listserves, and convincing people they are helping out community members by joining a “group rate.” They really gave away the game with the reply email, though.
I alerted the YS board to this and they have removed “Lisa.” I’ll let them chime in further with anything they want to add. It’s really really hard to fully vet people joining big listserves like this, so I think it is inevitable that stuff like this happens. Just wanted to make others aware of this scam and to alert people to be on their guard, generally (and apparently, also to definitely do research when it comes to HVAC cleanings).
Thanks again to the board for their quick action. Sending everyone strength and solidarity in our dark times — as annoying as this was, if only HVAC scams were the worst of our problems right now…”