Veteran warning others about scammer pretending to be from Jacksonville Beach Fire Department

Navy veteran Rickey Evans is making it a priority to let his neighbors know about a phone scam that tried to get him not once, but twice.

About a month ago, Evans got a call from someone who claimed to be from the Jacksonville Beach Fire Department and asked for money for a charity.

“I thought, ‘Who better to help than the Fire Department?’”

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But Evans didn’t want to give his debit card information so he told the caller he’d get a prepaid card.

“When I didn’t have a debit or credit card to give the guy, immediately I could tell he wasn’t interested,” said Evans.

The next call came a few days ago while he was working, and that’s when the red flags started to fly.

Evans told the man on the phone that he had a prepaid card ready to go, but the caller didn’t seem interested, so Evans started asking questions.

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“He told me his name was Jeff, and he had a deep, husky voice and he was very convincing,” said Evans.

He said the man gave him an address but when he put it into Google, the business that popped up was for a furniture mart, not the Jacksonville Beach Fire Department.

“I was almost taken advantage of,” said Evans.

We called the number of the phone that called Evans, but the call didn’t go through.

We also spoke with the chief at the Jacksonville Beach Fire Department, who said they would never ask for your debit card information.

Evans reported the scam to the Federal Trade Commission and hopes his story will protect others.

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