Norwalk police are warning landscapers and homeowners of a scam targeting them.

John Lane, who says he fell victim to the scam, tells News 12 he came home to find a landscaping business cutting down trees in his backyard -- work he knew nothing about.

Police say in this type of fraud, a scammer asks a landscaper to do work on a property, often a house for sale.

The scammers then ask the landscaper to cover the costs of additional work to be performed by a subcontractor. 

"The landscaper will then pay the subcontractor, who is involved in the scam, and then find out later that the credit card they were given or the check they were given is fraudulent," says Lt. Terry Blake, of the Norwalk Police Department. "It bounces, or it's no good. So the landscaper is out whatever work they may have done at that residence, as well as any money they paid to the alleged subcontractor."

Police say these scams are being done over the phone. They advise landscapers to meet with clients face to face.