#Westport, CT–On Saturday November 28, 2020, the Westport Police
Department received a complaint from a business located in the
Saugatuck Area in regards to being victimized by an apparent scam.

It was reported that an individual had entered the store and had spoken
with a juvenile employee. During the course of his conversation with
that employee, this individual claimed to be working on behalf of the
Westport Fire Department, stating that he was required to inspect the
fire extinguishers kept on site. This individual ultimately claimed that
both extinguishers maintained by the business needed to be replaced.
He claimed that he had spoken with the store’s manager and provided a
paper invoice in the amount of $198.15 to cover the cost of replacement
that the manager had agreed would be paid in cash. The invoice was
labeled as being from “Metro Fire Prevention” of Norwalk. Metro Fire
Prevention is the name of an actual company that provides building
sprinkler system services, but is not based out of Norwalk and does not
employ this individual. The employee then did provide a cash payment
and the individual left the business, claiming that he would return with
the two new extinguishers, but instead fled the area.

The suspect in this particular incident was described as a white male,
approximately 6’0” tall and weighing approximately 190 pounds. His
age was estimated to be in his 30s. He was said to be wearing a black
sweater with a blue button up shirt underneath, blue jeans and a black
baseball cap, possibly attempting to mimic the appearance of a fire
department official. Officers are currently working to attempt to
identify the suspect in this incident.

Local businesses should be aware that this is a known scam, and that
those perpetrating it generally target establishments that employ
younger people. Employees of the Westport Fire Department are
clearly identifiable as such when working in their official capacity and
do not employ sub-contractors to conduct inspections, nor would they
request payments for services rendered. Should an individual enter
your business claiming something similar to the above scenario, we ask
that you please contact the police department immediately.
Although, as stated, this is a previously known scam, to date this is the
the first complaint of this type that the Westport Police Department has
received in 2020.

Anyone with information regarding today’s incident that could assist in
this investigation is asked to contact the Westport Police Department at
(203) 341-6000.

This press release was made possible by: