There seems to have been a resurgence in duct cleaning scams on Facebook.
They’re a familiar sight to any member of local discussion, garage sale, and events groups; they’re always written similarly, offering large discounts on duct cleaning and HVAC services, usually posted by new group members.
Nicole Fernell with Fresh Air Furnace Cleaners is no stranger to the posts, as she belongs to several local groups and will often reply to inquiries from locals looking for duct cleaning recommendations.
She keeps an eye out for the posts and has even heard from a few people who have had dealings with these alleged scammers.
The posts have become so prevalent that she wrote a post of her own on the Fresh Air Furnace Cleaners page to warn locals about them.
Fernell is hoping other people notice the trend and start being able to identify them.
“They’ll create these posts that say ‘unlimited ducts, the first ten people to comment get a special deal, believe my work not my words,’ but they never post a business name, they never post a business number, if you comment they’ll say ‘I’ll PM you.'”
Within the last few weeks, many of the posts have adopted different language, appealing to group members to “support local.”
“I started seeing ones (that say) ‘we’re a locally owned and operated business,’ that’s something I say in my posts. They’ll say ‘we’re a family…
