Bitumen fraud charges laid against scammers

The alleged fraud is part of a long-running regional scam that involves door-knocking homes and businesses offering to seal their driveways with bitumen.

In late May business owners allegedly paid up front for their driveways to be sealed with bitumen and were unhappy with the quality of the work.

Queensland Police will allege the group performed "substandard work" while using poor quality bitumen to seal the driveways in Portsmith, a suburb of Cairns, and nearby Tolga, home to the Big Peanut.

One of the men allegedly asked a business owner in Stratford, just north of Cairns, for a large sum of money in return for sealing the business' driveway.

But the owner declined and reported it to police on May 26.

On May 28 police intercepted two members of the group and seized their machinery on Bruce Highway.

All five members of the group, aged between 16 and 42, were charged with fraud and attempted fraud.

Queensland police said investigations are ongoing and the public should contact them with any information about similar dealings.

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The scam is not new and nor is it isolated. Reports of bitumen bandits stretch from Western Australia's wheatbelt to eastern Victoria.

And it's left victims thousands of dollars out of pocket.

According to Queensland police, the scammers demand a deposit upfront and disappear or use watered down bitumen and charge thousands more than the initial quote, often employing stand-over tactics.

"The guy in the car said to me we're tarring a road nearby and we've got heaps of leftover substance, enough to tar this driveway for you, and we're doing a cheap price at $30 a square metre" one Airlie Beach victim of the bitumen bandit con said.

Her driveway was sealed three days after the agreed date with poor quality bitumen and was charged double the quoted price.

Police say some of the warning signs of a scammer include: