Pueblo family raising awareness after suspicious landscaper takes pictures of their home

PUEBLO, Colo. (KOAA) — As temperatures rise, so does the risk of being taken advantage of by fraudsters posing as landscapers.

Some scammers are going old school, showing up on your doorstep with a smile, a clipboard, and a plan to take advantage of you.

That’s why Tamara Stokes says she was scared for her life. A woman knocked on the door of her Pueblo home, which she shares with her daughter and grandson.

“My grandson answered the door, and they said they’re from a landscaping company. They didn’t say which landscaping company,” Stokes said.

Her daughter, Kimberly Galpin, realized something was off when the woman said she was sent by their landlord to take pictures of the house.

“It was a little weird,” Galpin said. “It was on a Sunday night, at 7:40, on Memorial Day weekend. It just didn't seem to add up.”

Galpin responded to the woman at her doorstep, informing her that she had not been notified of her visit. She says the woman then asked her, "Do you need me to contact the landlord? You talk to them and confirm that I’m supposed to be here?”

Galpin agreed to the woman’s suggestion. However, when the woman got the person on the line, she didn’t recognize the voice.

“‘They’re just asking to make sure we’re supposed to be here,’” Galpin recalled hearing the woman speak on the phone. “[The man on the phone] wouldn’t even confirm. He would just say, ‘Yes, honey. Yes, sweetie.’ That was not normal from my previous experience with the landlord.”

Concerned, Galpin personally called her property management office for confirmation.

“The second we told them, you’re not coming in the backyard, we have no notification that you’re supposed to be here, and the property management said not to let you in the backyard, [she] left. [She] was here less than 5 minutes,” she said.

Galpin’s mother lives with disabilities and was listening to the encounter from inside their home.

“The whole time I’m sitting inside, I’m just shaking," said Stokes. “Then she kept saying, ‘You’ll see.' You’ll see what? Is something going to happen? When someone tells you that, what’s the first thing that comes to your head? ‘Oh God, I’m going to die.’”

Galpin described the woman as Hispanic in appearance, with shoulder-length hair and wearing a reflective vest.

Neighbors in Pueblo told the family they had seen a woman with the same description appear at their doorstep. So, Galpin filed a police report.

“Scammers can actually gain a lot of information by just driving around a neighborhood,” Dr. J. Michael Skiba, also known as Dr. Fraud, Program Manager of Criminal Justice Legal Studies at CSU Global.

“My yard is unfortunately the unkempt ones around, which is probably why they picked this house because it's the one that actually looks like it needs the landscaping versus the ones that actually have grass,” Galpin said.

This is an example of how someone might try to take advantage of you while hiding behind a facade of landscaping, according to Dr. Fraud.

“We’re seeing different variations of the old school kind of casing the joint, if you will,” he said. “A lot of individuals are taking pictures, but really what they’re doing is, they can blow up what’s behind them and they’re looking at whatever’s in their yard, in their house, what windows are opened or closed, ring cameras, a dog.”

He advises that if you’re ever approached:

• Do not pay any money up front.
• Sign a contract.
• Check customer references.

Also, if a person says they’re sent by someone you know, personally contact that person to make sure they’re telling the truth.

This is how the Pueblo family determined that the woman at their doorstep was not honest about the reasons for her visit.

“I’m not answering the door,” Stokes said. “If something like that happens again, I go to the door and don't know them, I’m calling the cops.”

Now the family wants to make sure no one else feels unsafe or gets taken advantage of.

“There are a lot of disabled people who live by themselves,” Stokes said. “There are a lot of single ladies who live by themselves with kids, because you never know. You go to the door, pop. You’re going to get shot. Who knows? Nobody knows. I just want people to be aware to watch their backs.”

You can file a report with the Pueblo Police Department here.

If you’ve had a similar experience involving fraud or a scam, reach out to KOAA News5 Consumer Reporter Kierra Sam at kierra.sam@koaa.com

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