How to Spot a Contractor Scam Before You Sign

After 30+ years pouring concrete and watching honest tradespeople get undercut by scammers, I've seen every trick in the book. Here are the warning signs that should make you walk away — no matter how good the price looks.

1. Door-to-door pitch with "leftover materials"

Real contractors don't cruise neighborhoods with extra asphalt or concrete. If someone knocks on your door offering a discount because they "have material left from a job down the street," it's a scam. The work will be thin, watered down, or never finished.

2. Demands cash up front — or full payment before work starts

A fair deposit is 10–30%. Anything more is a red flag. If they want it in cash only, with no written contract, they're planning to disappear.

3. No license, no insurance, no physical address

Ask for their state license number and proof of liability insurance. Then verify both. A legitimate contractor will hand them over without flinching. A scammer will get defensive or change the subject.

4. Pressure tactics — "today only" pricing

Real contractors are booked out weeks or months. They don't need to pressure you into signing today. Anyone using fake urgency is hiding something.

5. No written contract, or a vague one

Every job should have a written contract with the scope, materials, timeline, total price, payment schedule, and warranty. If they "do everything on a handshake," you have no recourse when things go wrong.

6. Reviews that all sound the same

Go deeper than Yelp's "recommended" section. Read 10–15 reviews. If they're all 5-star, all short, and all posted within a few weeks of each other, they're fake. Real businesses have a mix of reviews — and the good ones always reply to the bad ones.

7. They badmouth every other contractor in town

Good contractors compete on their own work, not by trashing the competition. Someone who spends the consultation tearing down every other company is hiding their own weaknesses.

The bottom line

The cheapest bid is almost never the best deal. A real contractor with a license, insurance, references, and a written contract may cost 20% more upfront — but you'll save thousands compared to fixing a scammer's mess.

When you're ready to hire, browse our verified directory where every provider has a public profile, public reviews, and the right to publicly reply to every review they get.