Officials Warn About WA Fire Zone Evacuation Scammers

The Spokane County Sheriff's Office and other LE agencies are warning people about potential fake fire evacuation scammers.

   The warning stems from fake calls in Spokane area

The SCSO says a number of citizens in the area of the Crescent Road Fire Evacuation Area near Long Lake reported receiving phone calls from persons claiming to be law enforcement or emergency officials.

These callers urged the citizens to evacuate immediately. However, apparently,  these callers were actually scammers.

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It is believed they were trying to trigger people into leaving their home, and then burglarize them when they're empty.

The SCSO and other agencies say high-level evacuations are handled on a door-to-door basis whenever possible, by bullhorn in a neighborhood, or via social media and certified official cellphone apps.  They do not call people on their phones.

Officials also say if there are fire dangers posted in their area, check official evacuation zone maps and other information that's released by law enforcement.

And, if you do receive suspicious calls or other contact from these kinds of individuals, notify law enforcement as well.

This tactic is nothing new, it was recently happening in areas of California where people evacuated due to fire dangers, as reported by the NY Post.