Be alert to new ‘anglo-saxon’ tarmac scam in Grand Est

According to the alerts from the gendarmerie, these men come to your home, speaking French with strong accents, and explain that they have been working on a nearby road and have some leftover tarmac, and can do your outside space for a fee.

Before the resident has much time to ask more or knows the price, the workers - speaking English - begin the work, spread the tarmac haphazardly, and demand a significant payment.

If the victims do not pay up, a team of 'large armed' men (in French, 'gros bras', meaning men with muscled arms, not weapons) arrive to claim the money several hours later.

Cases of the 'anglo-saxon tarmac scam' have been noted in Moselle, and residents in Meuse and Vosges have also been warned, despite no cases yet recorded in those departments.

Residents are asked to be on high alert, especially as the cases so far have taken place in rural areas where there are no other witnesses.

The gendarmerie advises residents to not answer the door to such requests, to not give any personal details, and to collect the maximum amount of detail on the men, and their vehicles, and report them to the gendarmerie.

The new scam is similar to one seen last year, where ‘Irish tarmac builders' came to people’s houses to spread a mix of tar and gravel.