IT’S NOT ALWAYS THE SAME PERSON pulling the scam, but it’s always the same story. The routine usually works this way: A man dressed in what could be taken for a firefighter’s work uniform, or work jacket, walks into a business that has several employees and identifies himself as a fire marshal who is there for a routine inspection.
After he wanders around a while doing his faux inspection, he waits until everybody is busy with customers and then ducks into the offices where he rifles through the purses or petty cash boxes.
One of these shysters is working in Chicago now and the Chicago Tribune reported:
The man was carrying a file folder with papers in it and wearing a blue jacket with the words “Chicago Fire Department” in white lettering on the back, police said. He told staff at the club that he was a fire inspector and proceeded to look around in what appeared to the staff to be a professional manner, finding fire extinguishers and looking for fire code violations, police said.
After the man had looked around for a while, he told staff at the club that there were some violations and that they owed $260 in fines, police said. The staff gave him the money, police said.
While the man was at the club, among the rooms he entered was one in which a purse had been set down; after he left, it was discovered that $300 was missing from the purse, police said.
This is the first one that we’ve reported on where the “inspector” asked for, and received, cash for payment of fines.
Back in September Firegeezer ran this VIDEO STORY about a similar operation in the Columbus, Ohio, area.
