Watch out for door-to-door sales scams in eastern Ontario: OPP

A door-to-door salesman directs someone to sign a contract in this stock image. (Getty)

Police in eastern Ontario are warning about what they call a multi-layered, door-to-door sales scam targeting vulnerable residents in the area.

The fraud is leaving victims with home services they do not need, poor quality renovations and/or a mortgage or lien on their homes, the Ontario Provincial Police said in a news release on Thursday.

Officers add some victims may not even know that the scam has even happened.

The province of Ontario banned some forms of unsolicited door-to-door sales to protect people from aggressive and misleading contractors in 2018. The ban includes air conditioners, air purifiers, duct cleaning, furnaces, water filters or softeners, and water heaters. According to the introduced legislation, businesses can only enter a house if contacted directly by the customer ahead of time.

However, criminals continued to push owners and victims to sign unsolicited contracts, some of which even pretend to be acting on behalf the Ontario government, police say.

The province passed new legislation under the Homeowners Protection Act and the Personal Property Security Act to further address this issue on June 6 this year.

The OPP shares some tips to protect yourself:

Here are the red flags to keep an eye for:

Anyone who has been victim of fraud is asked to call police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 (toll-free), or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) to remain anonymous.