Fire Department warns against phone scam

A phone scam could cost you or your business a lot of money.

The Pocatello Fire Department reported several phony calls to businesses claiming to be a local firefighter. The caller asks employees to test their fire suppression systems.

So far, there have been three cases where employees or businesses have complied and activated their system.

Though the fire department is not releasing the names of the specific businesses, they did say two of those cases were local. One at a business in Pocatello, and another at a business in Chubbuck.

Now businesses who activated their systems are paying to get the system recharged and re-certified. It could cost several thousand dollars.

It’s a statewide scam but many of the businesses who received calls have been directly along I-86.

The most targeted business is Burger King.

Pocatello Fire Chief David Gates is warning people who get a call like that to just hang up, no matter how much detailed information they seem to provide.

“No one from Pocatello Fire or any agency that services suppression systems will call personally and ask you to test your system,” Gates said. “If these systems are tested, it should be done by professionals and only in a controlled setting.”

If you have been affected by this scam, or you have any information that could help, you can contact the Pocatello Fire Department at 234-7083. You can also contact Pocatello Police at 234-6100.