--- title: "New Scam Alert: Thieves Steal Florida Woman’s Entire Driveway" description: "A Florida woman's driveway was removed while she wasn't home, after an scammer hired a contractor to take it away." date: "2024-01-07" modified: "2024-01-07" authors: - name: "Nico DeMattia" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/nico-demattia" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/new-scam-alert-thieves-steal-florida-womans-entire-driveway" categories: - "News" --- # New Scam Alert: Thieves Steal Florida Woman’s Entire Driveway ![]() *WFTV9* Amanda Brochu came home from work one day and her entire driveway was gone. Not the items on the driveway, but the driveway itself. Instead of the long concrete slab driveway in between her garage and the street, there was only tread-marked dirt. It turns out Brochu was the unintended victim of a scam, designed to steal money from home contractors. “I come home and my driveway is gone,” Brochu told *[WFTV9 Orlando]()*. The people who took Brochu's driveway from her Apopka, Florida home worked for a local contractor, who was hired to demolish and remove it. The problem is that the contractor wasn't hired by Brochu. Instead, they were hired by a thief who went by the name "Andre." Why would someone hire a contractor to do work on someone else's house? According to *[WFTV9]()*, it's called an "overpayment scam" and contractors are actually the intended victims. The idea is to find a[ home listed for sale]()—on Zillow, Realtor.com, or any other real estate listing site—and hire a contractor to do some exterior work to the property. It could be a roofing job, a driveway removal, or even painting the exterior. Once the contractor and scammer agree to a price, the scammer will send a check for more than the agreed-upon price. Then, they'll reach out to the contractor, saying there was a mistake on the check, and ask for the extra money to be refunded. If the contractor sends cash to refund the difference and then cashes the check, the check will bounce and the scammer will make off with the difference. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSzQjWfaL0Q Usually, when this happens, the work is already done and the homeowner is an unintended victim who has to deal with whatever was done to their home. However, for this scam to work, the contractor has to not only agree to the job without meeting the homeowner but also do the job without anyone at home. In Brochu's case, she needs the sale of her home to buy another home she's currently under contract to buy. Few people will want to buy a house without a driveway but she couldn't initially afford the $10,000 to have it repaved, so she set up a GoFundMe to help pay for a replacement. Thankfully, a *Cox Media Group* radio sponsor is offering to install a new driveway, and the GoFundMe money will be donated to a local nonprofit. As a homeowner, there's really no way of preventing this because it will happen without you knowing about it. Of course, it requires a contractor willing to do work on a home without ever meeting the homeowner, which isn't common. But the homeowner is completely unaware anything is going on until they come home to a missing driveway. *Got tips? Send 'em to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Nico is a writer and reviewer from New Jersey who probably thinks he’s a lot funnier than he actually is. His love of cars began when he was just a kid playing Gran Turismo 3, grinding out enough race wins with a Mazda Miata to save up for an in-game RUF 911. That passion for small, lightweight sports cars drove his desire to learn more about the industry, get his hands on as many cars as he could, and bring those experiences to life on the page. He cut his teeth writing about BMWs, Volkswagens, and Audis, mostly, and has owned far too many of each. He’s on his fourth 3 Series sedan, but all of his old, cheap German cars have forced him to learn more about car maintenance than his mechanical capability can handle. Too many late nights have been spent scrambling to get a car running by morning so he could get to work. For some reason, he never seems to learn that old Bimmers probably aren’t the best daily drivers. But he loves more than just old German cars. He’ll gladly drive and discuss anything with four (or even three) wheels. Cars aren’t his only passions, though. Nico is also a big nerd and loves movies, video games, comic books, and cares far too much about the New York Giants. So don’t be surprised if you see football references or dumb, obscure movie quotes in any of his car reviews. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()