Scammers claiming to be COVID enforcement targeting Colorado Springs construction sites

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A local construction company says a small group of scammers claiming to be some sort of Coronavirus enforcement team tried to extort them for money.

Vern Albila is a security and investigations consultant. He says he was hired by the construction company that was targeted. Albila says on Friday a group of about six people came onto the job site wearing red jackets and red hard hats and claimed they were a "COVID-19 compliance team."

Albila says the scammers asked to look around the property. His client then asked the scammers for any identification to prove who they were, which they refused to give.

"They became extremely belligerent and aggressive when they couldn't produce those documents and were asked to leave," Albila says.

After a short confrontation, the scammers left. The construction crew then started calling other crews in Colorado Springs about the incident when someone they spoke with said the same thing just happened to them.

As for the scammers, Albila believes they are in the construction business.

"They were very knowledgeable about construction," Albila says, "they knew their way around a job site."

He says the Colorado Springs Police Department and the El Paso County Sheriff's Office has been notified about the scammers and are investigating.

Albila says his client wants to let other construction crews know about this so they don't fall victim to the scam. Especially since the economy in Colorado is starting to pick up again after two months of being closed from COVID-19.

"Having people try to extort for whatever purpose and slow down our businesses is a big deal," Albila says.