A person comes to your door and tells you that they noticed you need either a new driveway, repairs to an existing one, or a seal coating. Sometimes versions of this scam pop up for other regular repairs after a natural disaster. They have just come off a job and they have the materials, so they can do it cheap.

Needless to say, if you’ve agreed you do get a form of product… but it’s shoddy work and equally shoddy materials that will not stand up to much of anything. And of course you’ll never see them again unless you try to stop payment - which will make them angry.

This scam is called the Tarmac Scam in wikipedia - or as us Americans would call it, the Asphalt Scam. However, since the disaster version can involved any kind of work, I’ve gone with this name.

How to protect yourself
Never hire a contractor who contacts you first. There might be a rare exception if you know them very well and trust them, but the general rule is that you should contact a contractor, not the other way around.

Also, you should find it suspicious that they “have some spare materials” from another job. That seems a bit handy, doesn’t it? You should also ask for a contractor’s license and verify that they have insurance.