PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (WFLA) — ‘Tis the season for scam artists hoping to make their holidays brighter.
An 87-year-old Pinellas Park woman is out hundreds of dollars.
Someone stopped by her house unannounced and told her that her driveway needed to be fixed.
Now Anna Sljokic’s driveway is white.
“I am not [a] professional. It looks to me, stupid, and I have to do something to cover [it] up,” said Anna.
On Wednesday, a guy in a white pick-up truck pulled up.
“My driveway needs be fixed,” Anna said he told her.
The fix consisted of a coat of white spray paint.
That is similar to what other scam artists use when promising to seal pavement or roofs.
“I said, ‘I don’t like this,’ be like I said, ‘look at this it’s too white’. He says, ‘no, no it’s going to change, it’s going to change,'” recalled Anna.
The handyman billed Anna $300.
Though he did throw in several white footprints that track from her driveway, up her sidewalk, to her front door, for free.
He even painted part of her grass.
“Yeah, it’s because he’s professional,” mused Anna.
Anna Sljokic grew up in what was then Yugoslavia.
She survived the horrors of World War II and has traveled the world.
“Nobody tricked me like this,” she said. “He did, he did. He was good.”
One of Anna’s neighbors contacted Pinellas Park police.
The cops say ’tis the season for scammers to show up unannounced, offer to do work, demand cash and disappear, leaving victims like Anna no recourse if there are problems.
Pinellas Park Police Sgt. Mike Lynch warns now that we’ve seen one of these con artists, we will see more.
He warns if someone shows up at your home offering to do work, slam the door in their face. If they don’t leave, call police.
“Oh boy, if I could see him. I’d be stretching him out like this,” said Anna.
Anna knows she made a $300 mistake.
“I’m a good person, don’t done to nobody. I don’t hurt nobody and look they come and hurt me,” she explained.
She warns others, this may not be the most wonderful time of the year.
If you have a problem that you think should be investigated, call our Target 8 Helpline at 1 800 338-0808. Contact Steve Andrews at sandrews@wfla.com.
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