Fire chief warns of scammers soliciting donations for Carson City Fire Department
The Carson City Fire Department was contacted Thursday by a resident who stated she had received several phone calls from a person soliciting donations for the fire department and fire victims.
The Carson City Fire Department does not make phone solicitations requesting donations and we are not aware of any fire department in the area soliciting donations by phone calls. Please be vigilant and do not offer payment to this scam.
The Carson City Sheriff’s Office consistently receives reports of people of all ages falling for scams that affect them financially. The scams in Carson City are no different than what is occurring all over the nation.
The majority of the criminals masterminding these scams can be anywhere in the world. They can disguise their phone numbers and e-mails making it seem as if they are contacting you from within the area you live. When in reality, they might be in another state or even another country.
The scammers are “spoofing” their phone numbers and e-mail addresses. “Spoofing” allows the suspect to masquerade as someone else by falsifying the number that appears on the victim's caller ID display or making it appear that a message came from any e-mail address the sender chooses. It may appear as if you are talking to someone locally when in reality they are in a different country.
The scammers will provide any lie to include identifying themselves as a known real person who works for a local government agency.