Storm Repair Phone Scam? Romeoville Residents Report Nuisance Calls

ROMEOVILLE, IL —Romeoville residents recently reported receiving a barrage of unsolicited — and unwanted — suspected spam calls in the wake of some spring severe weather. Carol Stonis Kopca and several other Romeoville residents said they began receiving repeated calls nearly two weeks ago from callers claiming to be with a home repair company. It was unclear whether the calls came from a legitimate business, a phone scammer or a disreputable "storm chaser" repair company.

"This is every day and sometimes multiple times a day," Kopca said last week. She said several different callers were reaching her on her private cell phone number, which is already on the national "Do Not Call" registry.

Some residents who asked for the company's name were told it was called "Illinois One Service," although online searches and a check with the Better Business Bureau didn't turn up any home repair companies by that name.

"They called me by name and they called out my street name, neither of which can be associated with my cell phone number unless personally given to you by me or by my cell phone company, which I verified the other day they will never do," Kopca said in a post on a Facebook page for Romeoville residents.

Some residents reported receiving as many as four calls per day, including calls on Easter Sunday. In each call, the caller offered to evaluate the resident's roof and siding for storm damage, free of charge. And they didn't seem to want to take no for an answer, according to residents.

Each time, Kopca said she asked to be removed from the company's call list. During one call, "(The caller) said 'We're going to be in your area and I said, 'What area is that?' and he hung up," she said.

Attempts to call the company back proved futile. "When I called them back, I got an automated error message that the number had been disconnected. Every day I'm getting like 4-6 calls," one frustrated resident wrote.

Although her cell phone showed the calls originating in Romeoville and Lockport, the callers appeared to have foreign accents, Kopca said. She said she hadn't heard from anyone who had a rep for the reputed company actually show up at their home, but she was concerned about possible phone scams involving real phone numbers "spoofed" by spam callers. In some cases, spammers use a tactic called caller ID spoofing to make it look like the call is coming from a local or trusted phone number.

Other known phone scams include the "can you hear me?" scam, in which scammers try to get victims to say "yes" -- and then use the recorded "yes" response to confirm some type of purchase or agreement, and the "one ring" scam.

RELATED: Don't Return Calls From These Area Codes: 'One Ring' Phone Scam Resurfaces

Romeoville Police Deputy Chief Ken Kroll said while police hadn't fielded any reports of suspected spam calls, they did get some calls about unsolicited visits from home repair companies.

"There absolutely are reputable companies that do storm restoration work," he said. "However, there are a lot of storm chasers."

If someone does show up at your house asking to inspect storm damage, check their credentials. "If somebody shows up at your door, they have to have a soliciting permit," Kroll said. At a minimum, companies must be vetted for serious criminal offenses before receiving a permit, he said.

The best way to avoid storm repair scams? Only deal with companies you have reached out to yourself, Kroll said.

"It's best for you to make contact yourself," Kroll said. He said residents can report unwanted calls or visits to the Romeoville Police Department. The non-emergency number is 815-886-7219.

The Better Business Bureau offers these tips for anyone who thinks they may have been targeted by a phone scam:

• If you don’t recognize the number, don’t answer your phone. Legitimate contacts will leave messages. Even if a scammer leaves a message, this will give you time to think about what is being asked of you.
• Hang up on unsolicited robocalls from organizations and businesses. If you’re already on the Do Not Call Registry, it’s likely a scam, the BBB says. Don’t answer any calls in the affirmative, with answers such as “yes,” “sure,” “OK” or anything similar.
• If you are asked a similar question in a phone call, or are asked to press a button to be placed on the Do Not Call Registry, don’t speak or push the button. The BBB says that either response tells the scammer your phone number is active. Government agencies don’t solicit for the Do Not Call Registry, the BBB said.
• In this scam, or in any others, don’t give out any personal identifying information.
• If you think you’ve already been had, contact your bank and credit card companies and ask them to flag your account. Check your account daily. The earlier you identify fraudulent charges, the easier it is to get your money back.
• Write down the phone number of those callers violating the Do Not Call Registry and file a scam report with BBB Scam Tracker, the Federal Trade Commission or the Federal Communications Commission.c

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