Businesses can be the targets of scams, too.

Conewango Police reported recently that a local contractor was approached, by text and phone, about a job.

The contractor went to the location, checked out the roof to be replaced, and prepared an estimate, according to police.

The caller asked to pay through a credit card service.

The contractor became suspicious of the situation, according to police. He looked up the ownership of the property and contacted the listed owner — who had no knowledge of the work.

The contractor then notified police.

The details of the plan are not certain, police said, because the victim caught it in time.

Police expect the scammer would have overpaid for the job, asked the contractor to pay back the overpaid amount, and then, the contractor would have eventually found out that the original payment was not covered.

“Fortunately, the contractor did not fall prey and was only out his time,” police said.

“Further research on these scams depicts various methods of defrauding small businesses,” police said. “Conewango Police would like to warn small businesses to investigate their customers especially those customer transactions not completed in person.”