San Diego residents, be on high alert. Impostors masquerading as City of San Diego water department employees are targeting your neighborhoods. These scams have been particularly reported in the 92113 and 92114 zip codes, with con artists going door to door, claiming they need to check the tap water inside homes for quality.
But here's the real deal: as the San Diego Police Department warns, those folks are fakes. They're not affiliated with the city, and if you see them, the police say to shut the door. The City of San Diego, for its part, has laid out clear ground rules: they won't come knocking to test your water quality without proper identification, which includes a city logo and credentials you can actually verify. In a statement via Facebook, the city shared, "City personnel are always willing to show proper identification and provide a supervisor’s phone number for verification."
Scammers often craft sophisticated lies, but one way to trip them up is by verifying the supervisor's phone number they provide—call it right there and then, if you must. If the person at your door is sweating buckets over a phone call, there's a good chance they're about as genuine as a three-dollar bill. The San Diego Police Department is advising everyone to report these encounters by calling their non-emergency line at 619-531-2000 or the Public Utilities Department’s emergency hotline at 619-515-3525, pronto.
Remember, it's your right as a resident to deny entry to anyone if you're feeling uneasy about their identity or if their story seems off. And if someone's pressuring you and refusing to wait for a simple telephone verification, consider that a massive, blaring red flag. Stay safe, be vigilant, and when in doubt, keep that door closed and hit the phone.
