Curb Painting Scams: How to Spot Them (and What to Do)

The documented scams

Four patterns account for nearly every warning we found:

• The fake requirement. In Dallas, scammers told homeowners the police department “required” curb numbers, painted, then demanded payment. The Dallas Police Department publicly refuted it: neither the city nor the police require curb numbers, and they advise calling 911 if someone paints without permission or claims it's mandatory.
• Paint first, bill later. Consumer-protection reporting across several states documents painters who mark your curb unasked, then leave a bill or knock for payment — sometimes claiming the city hired them. Police in those cases were unambiguous: you have no obligation to pay for work you never agreed to.
• Take the money and vanish. Richardson police warned about a curb painting flyer under a name with no solicitation permit on file — checks were collected up front and the work never done. In College Station, flyers asked homeowners to tape cash to the front door in an envelope; police confirmed no solicitor permit had been issued.
• The distraction. One Pennsylvania police department warned that unsolicited curb painting visits are sometimes used to distract homeowners while accomplices commit theft — rare, but a reason to be wary of unexpected crews at the door.

Red flags at a glance

If you see any of these, close the door or keep your wallet shut:

• Any claim that the city, police, or “the law” requires curb numbers — it doesn't, anywhere in our area, and that claim alone is the signature of the con. (Here's what the codes actually require.)
• Paint on your curb before you agreed to anything, followed by a request for payment.
• Cash or a check demanded up front, especially into an envelope or before a date “when we'll be back in the neighborhood.”
• A flyer with no business name, no phone number that answers, and no way to find the operator again.
• No solicitor permit in a city that requires one — see below.

The permit check most people don't know about

Door-to-door selling is regulated city by city in Collin County, and you can use that: a legitimate operator knows the local rules, and a scammer usually hasn't bothered.

• McKinney: a city solicitor permit is required, and the ordinance (ch. 78) names “painting house numbers on streets” explicitly. No Sunday soliciting, none after sunset, and a posted NO SOLICITORS card must be honored.
• Allen: home solicitors need a permit issued by the Allen Police Department after a background check, with the badge visibly worn, and may only solicit in daylight hours.
• Plano: the city repealed its solicitor permit system in 2021 — so “I have a city permit” would itself be a strange claim here — but knocking at a home displaying a no-trespassing or no-soliciting sign is an offense with fines up to $500.
• Frisco: the city suspended its solicitation permit requirement in 2016; solicitors must still carry government photo ID, and the city posts a complaint line for problem solicitors.

What a legitimate curb painter looks like

The contrast is not subtle. A legitimate operator agrees on the price with you before any paint touches concrete. Payment happens after the work is done and you've seen it. There's a business name you can search, a phone number and website that work, and no story about the city sending them. Where a permit is required, they have it and will show it.

That list doubles as our own promise: we quote your exact price up front, we paint only what you asked for, and you pay nothing until the number on your curb looks the way you wanted. Our request form, prices, and contact details are public — the opposite of a flyer that vanishes.

If it happens to you

Don't pay for unsolicited work — police in every documented case backed the homeowner on this. If someone paints your curb without permission or claims city authority, Dallas PD's advice applies across the area: report it (911 if they're aggressive or on your property; your city's non-emergency line otherwise). Then file a report with the BBB Scam Tracker so the next neighborhood sees them coming. And if a shoddy unsolicited number is now stuck on your curb — any reputable local service, ours included, can prep the surface and repaint it properly.