Pennington County officials say scammers are sending robocalls asking for money for volunteer fire departments in the area.
Todd Tobin with the Pennington County Fire Service and the Johnson Siding Volunteer Fire Department says data from the U.S. Fire Administration shows more than 90 percent of South Dakota firefighters are volunteers. He says the calls are an attempt to damage the reputation of first responders.
"We want to make sure that the public knows to not participate in this unless the department specifically is involved, identifies themselves, and gives a purpose for the reason for any type of donation. Which at this time, no departments are actively nor any that I would know in recent years use this technique as a fundraiser. The fundraisers are not done through phone calls, they're done through any other number of ways, typically public messaging, events held with a location, etc.,” Tobin says.
Tobin says officials take these scam attempts seriously. He says residents in Pennington and Lawrence Counties have reported the robocalls. Tobin says any potential victims should contact law enforcement.