The Ozark Acres Suburban Improvement District sent a warning to residents April 2 warning them of a new scam.
According to the letter, individuals have been calling individuals in the community pretending to be representatives of the fire department and soliciting donations.
“Please be aware that the Ozark Acres Fire Department (OAVFD) is not, and will not, be calling to solicit donations,” Jeremy Harris, SID commissioner for the fire department said. “If you receive a call from anyone or any entity claiming to be collecting donations on behalf of the OAVFD, please do not contribute or exchange any information with them. We ask that you report it to the SID office immediately.”
In an unrelated incident, the Izard County Sheriff’s Office has also warned of a social media scam circulating.
According to Izard County Sheriff Charlie Melton the scam post shows a photograph of a female claiming she is a police officer who has been reported missing.
“This is a scam.. the same post has been issued in other areas of the country,” Melton said.
The sheriff cautions that these posts are created to cause panic and fear.
There are proper channels to report missing persons including filing a missing person’s report with your local law enforcement agency or Arkansas State Police. These kinds of posts on social media, are typically seen on unmonitored or poorly administrated pages and include phrases such as “bump this post” or are vague regarding the location and may show hashtags with the name of the county that is a target, but without any real information.
Posts of injured animals, small children who have been injured or unrealistically under priced real estate or rental properties are also popular scams.
Lauren is a an award-winning journalist who decided after 10 years of newspaper experience to venture out. Hallmark Times was born.
