The tarmac scam is a

confidence trick A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have ...

in which criminals sell fake or shoddy tarmac (asphalt) and

driveway A driveway (also called ''drive'' in UK English) is a type of private road for local access to one or a small group of structures, and is owned and maintained by an individual or group. Driveways rarely have traffic lights, but some that bear ...

resurfacing. It is particularly common in Europe but practiced worldwide. Other names include tarmacking, the asphalt scam, driveway fraud or similar variants. Non-English names include "" (Italian), "" (German) and "" (French).

Method

A conman typically goes

door-to-door Door-to-door is a canvassing technique that is generally used for sales, marketing, advertising, evangelism or campaigning, in which the person or persons walk from the door of one house to the door of another, trying to sell or advertise a pro ...

, claiming to be a builder working on a contract who has some leftover tarmac, and offering to pave a

at a low cost. The paving is in fact often simply gravel chippings covered with

engine oil Motor oil, engine oil, or engine lubricant is any one of various substances used for the lubrication of internal combustion engines. They typically consist of base oils enhanced with various additives, particularly antiwear additives, detergen ...

, or not the right depth and type of materials to form a lasting road surface. Milk has been used to make a fake

sealant Sealant is a substance used to block the passage of fluids through openings in materials, a type of mechanical seal. In building construction ''sealant'' is sometimes synonymous with '' caulking'' and also serve the purposes of blocking dust, so ...

. The conmen may target elderly, vulnerable residents, and claim to be official contractors working on

roadworks Roadworks (called road work or road construction in the United States) occur when part of the road, or in rare cases, the entire road, has to be occupied for work relating to the road, most often in the case of road surface repairs. In the ...

to add credibility. Reported escalation has included increasing the cost, claiming that the job has required more material than expected, and making threats. Irish crime reporter Eamon Dillon, an expert on the gangs involved, interviewed a builder who worked with a gang who said that they had custom-built lorries which could never do a proper job: "a proper tarring lorry will have sixty jets, our tar lorries have eight". In another case, the equipment was rented in Romania and then never returned. Another gang used a lorry with

Highways Agency National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in England. It al ...

branding.

Criminals

Tarmac fraud is particularly associated with the

Rathkeale Rovers The Rathkeale Rovers are a group of English Travellers based in Ireland but operating internationally. They are all members of Ireland's Travelling Community, and use traditional Traveller work such as laying tarmac or home renovation as cover ...

and other gangs from the

Irish traveller Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...

community. The organiser of the scheme may lead a gang of low-paid workers, or human trafficking victims. Cases have been reported since the 1980s. The relative mundanity of tarmacking may have made it a low priority for law enforcement. Dillon has estimated that the scheme may earn up to $140m a year and that in 2010 there were 20 gangs active in Italy alone, earning €2 million a week.

References

{{reflist, 30em Confidence tricks Asphalt Road construction Pavements