In February, two gardeners knocked on the door of Alfredo Rosales in Guadalajara, offering to prune his trees and take away the branches for 300 pesos (US$17).
As it seemed a fair price, Rosales agreed. “They had a red pick-up. Suddenly six or seven men got out.” When one man asked for water he entered the house and was brazenly eyeing Rosales’ belongings. As a result, Rosales kept watch until they finished.
But once the job was done the workers asked for 1,300 pesos (US$75). “How could it be 1,300?” Rosales responded. “I definitely heard 300!”
Cases such as these are multiplying in Jalisco. The newspaper El Informador estimates that there were more than 150 victims of similar scams in the past year. The “gardeners” typically claim to be charging between 100 and 150 pesos (US$6 and US$9), but end up demanding 1,000 to 6,000 pesos (US$58 and US$348).
According to the newspaper, Guadalajara is the municipality with the highest number of false gardeners, mainly in the neighborhoods of Miraflores, Chapultepec, Providencia and Jardines del Sur.
Guadalajara police say they have received no reports of this crime. Yet victims point out that they are very afraid of reprisals, especially when facing groups armed with machetes and even chainsaws. Moreover, as the fraudsters know where their victims leave, those affected by the crime are very reluctant to report it.
Alfredo Rosales ending up paying the group 1,000 pesos. Yet even though they left with the sacks of trash, he later discovered that they had simply dumped them in the park. “I saw all of the branches discarded nearby. They picked on me. They are scam artits.”