WESLACO – An unlicensed contractor or electrician could end up costing you much more than anticipated and can even put your safety at risk.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation conducts undercover sting operations to catch unlicensed contractors.

KRGV’s Angelo Vargas and chief photographer Mark Vecchio went undercover with investigators from the department to show violators in action.

“The number of potential cases that we see has been going down each year and we find that to be very promising,” says TDLR’s Public Information Officer, Tela Mange.

This is the third year investigators conducted this operation in the Rio Grande Valley.

In 2016, 51 cases were opened, in 2017 there were 45 and in 2018 only 37 cases filed so far. 

"You can injure somebody. You could hurt them. You could kill them. You could burn down your house, burn down your business… There's a lot of really bad outcomes that are possible when you have someone that doesn't really know what they are doing," says Mange.  

Those who are unlicensed and providing these services will receive a notice of alleged violation in the mail and will have to pay a fine or defend their case in court.

The offenders are facing multiple violations with TDLR; the fines range from $500 to $5,000.

Watch the video above for the full story.