Police in the Ardennes region of France have this month issued another warning about "bitumeurs Irlandais," or Irish asphalt workers who are scamming unsuspecting customers.
Ardennes police said on social media on February 7 that in areas in the east of France, scammers are offering to do asphalt work with surplus construction supplies at low costs.
Police claim that the scammers are "Irlandais," or Irish, but noted that they have British accents and are using trucks that are primarily registered in the UK.
The finished product is poor quality, police said, and victims are often left with driveways that are cracking and crumbling within days.
When the work is complete, the scammers request payment that significantly exceeds the price they initially indicated.
The scammers do not provide an invoice, meaning the victim is left without a guarantee of completion.
Ardennes police are urging people to be cautious of deals that seem too good to be true and to contact police if presented with such offers.
In February 2023, French outlet Europe 1 reported that a criminal fringe of the Irish Travelling community specialized in serial thefts and scams.
Irish Travelling communities are located not just in Ireland, but also in the UK, US, and Canada.
Europe 1 reported at the time that France's Direction Centrale Police Judiciaire (DCPJ) had recently found that the Irish Traveller scams in France had been increasing following a slowdown due to the pandemic.
Europe 1 further reported that France's organized crime information, intelligence, and strategic analysis unit (SIRASCO) had found that 816 Irish or British individuals were involved in criminal acts in France in 2022, up from 616 in 2021.
Indeed, French police have taken to social media multiple times in recent years to issue warnings about the scams, similar to the warning issued this month.
In April 2024, police in Gard in the south of France issued a nearly identical warning on social media about Irish asphalt workers offering to do low-cost work, only for the work to be of poor quality and the scammers to demand higher payment than initially quoted.
In February 2021, police in Ardèche in the southeast of France warned of Irish - or English - scammers in Rhône-Alpes Auvergne region.
Similarly, in October 2020, police in Gard warned of the Irish - or English - scam happening in Méjannes-Lés-Alès, Langlade, Saint-Dionis, Rousson, and Saint-Mamert-du-Gard. The scam had been happening since August 2020 in the south of France, police said at the time.
Police in the US have also been on alert about scams conducted by people associated with the Irish Travelling community.
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