WASHINGTON — A D.C. business is asking for help finding a person they say scammed them out of nearly $1,000 while posing as a fire equipment inspector
According to an incident report from the Metropolitan Police Department, the owners of Pearl's Bagels, located in Northwest D.C., told responding officers on Saturday that someone walked into the store impersonating someone from a company called Metro Fire Prevention. The man was able to get away with $970, according to the police report.
The bagel shop posted a surveillance image on Twitter showing a man in a black shirt and black hat. The shop said the incident happened just before 11 a.m., which is the busiest time for the restaurant.
The shop said the man showed up with fake invoices and was there to service equipment. The company the man claimed to be from is the same one that regularly services the shop's fire equipment, such as fire extinguishers.
Owner Oliver Cox said the man sounded just official enough to get away with the money.
"He definitely figured out a way to sound as believable as possible and speak in a way that sounded like he worked for the company we do contract with," Cox said.
Police are looking to charge the man with first-degree fraud, but so far, no arrests have been made in this incident.
On Monday, DC Fire and EMS warned of the scam saying DC Fire inspectors will always arrive in uniform.
"We remind the community our inspectors will always be in full uniform, carry city ID, and will never ask for payment or cash," DC Fire and EMS said in a tweet.
Cox called the whole thing "brazen" and "violating."
"Especially in an era when you got to assume that there are security cameras in every business you're in. There's certainly cameras on a lot of blocks of downtown cities."
Cox hopes getting the word out about what happened will help bring the man to justice.
"Obviously it's a little embarrassing for us that this happened to us and we got fooled, but basically we just wanted to get out there and say, 'Don't be like us. Don't be fooled, and be aware that this could happen to you too,'" Cox said. "Hopefully we can get him off the streets."
Police are still investigating. Anyone who may have more information about this incident should contact police at 202-272-9099 or text the department's tip line at 50411.