Counties Manukau Police have warned people with elderly family members to be vigilant after a roofing scammer targeted 18 people, leaving a number of them thousands of dollars out of pocket.
Helen 83, and Sheila, 88, were scammed out of thousands after being approached by a man posing as a roofer.
The man spoke to both women saying he noticed damage to their roofs and claimed work needed to be done.
Helen said she has been left $4500 out of pocket after paying money upfront to the man for repairs, someone she said came across as honest and genuine.
"A guy said he'd been working in the area and saw my roof flapping in the wind. We came around the back and he had a quick look. He said he could fix it for $3000. [I had to pay] $2000 upfront and $1000 when it was finished.
"The next thing I heard was him he was coming back to have a proper look. He said I needed some roofing iron and would cost $2500. He came across as genuine. I believed him.
"I gave him the money and I never heard from him again."
In another incident, the man convinced 88-year-old Sheila a number of tiles on her roof were loose and some of them were broken.