The flooding across the state has brought out a lot of people interested in helping others, but it’s also bringing out rumors and the potential for scams. A scam in Des Moines had residents rushing to buy bottled water for fear the water plant would be flooded again as it was in 1993. Gary Benjamin of the Des Moines Water Works says someone calling on the phone Tuesday apparently started the rumor and run on water.
Benjamin says they city got several calls that a man was telephoning people, identifying himself as a water works employee and telling people to buy as much water as they could because the plant would be shut down at six o’clock.
Benjamin says the water works would not make individual calls to customers, but would rely on the media to get the message out. He encourages anyone who gets such a call to ignore the call. Des Moines police spokesman, Sergeant Vince Valdez, says the water rumor is a warning for people to be careful.
Valdez says you should be careful of scams, as people might call claiming to be with a cleanup company, or other types of scams involving the flooding. Valdez says it has happened in the past. He says be sure you know who you are dealing with. Valdez says the scammers will come out and try to take advantage of people who have had their homes flooded or destroyed. Valdez says use caution and notify police if you think someone is trying to scam you.