City law, officials warn against different types of scams

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Scams seem to be popping up everywhere these days with the takeover of technology and social media. From fake calls to fake websites. Reports of scams are nonstop in Kern County.

The Kern County Sheriff’s Office posted a warning to residents of scammers posing as deputies.
The Bakersfield Police Department also warned residents about callers posing as officers asking for donations.

“There are specific events that we fundraise for, but typically those are based off relationships that we’ve established in the community and are more face to face inquiries in meetings, and things of that nature,” said Sgt. Eric Celedon with the Bakersfield Police Department. “So, rarely, not on any occasion that I can think of are we soliciting over the phone.”

Scammers can even mask their phone numbers to make their identity look official on your caller ID. And their creativity doesn’t stop there, the City of Bakersfield, watching out for two different scams.

After the City of San Diego warned about fake QR codes to pay for parking.

“Such as the Eye Street Garage, that we don’t offer QR code processing for payments,” said Joe Conroy with the City of Bakersfield, “So, if you see that, you should know right away that it’s probably a scam and don’t use that.”

A website has also popped up pretending to be a bank for the city.

“We’ve looked into it and it appears that it’s at least an unauthorized use of our logo and branding, and we’re investigating currently,” said Joe Conroy.

One easy way to weed out scams is to watch for misspellings.

For more tips and how to learn to spot out scammers check out the Better Business Bureau’s guide here .

If you want to report any apparent scams, call the Bakersfield Police at 661-327-7111.

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