"Your hood suppression system failed its last inspection. The fine is $1,850, it's past due, and if it isn't paid by 4 PM we shut you down before dinner service."
Here's a hypothetical, and everyone in it is made up, the "fire marshal" included. Dana runs Little Ember Bakehouse (a made-up bakery and lunch counter) in a strip center off the highway. Two ovens, one fryer, four employees and a vent hood she still owes money on. Every weekday her MCA funder pulls $412 from the account, whether the oven is hot or not.
It's 1:15 PM on a Friday. The lunch rush is done and the walk-in is full of Saturday's dough. The caller sounds bored, which somehow makes him sound more official. He has her business name and address. He reads off a violation code and says he's calling from the fire marshal's office.
She asks if she can pay online. He says the portal is down. She can feed cash into the Bitcoin ATM at the gas station next door, or hand it to "our driver," who is already in the area.
Close tonight and she loses the weekend. Lose the weekend and the MCA debit still comes Monday. She opens the drawer and starts counting twenties.
Here's the turn. A real fire marshal's office doesn't collect fines through a crypto kiosk or a guy in a hatchback. And some fire departments don't do inspections at all.
This one is moving right now. On Oct. 15, 2026, the El Paso Fire Department warned that people falsely claiming to be its staff were demanding payment for fire-related services. The city said EPFD never asks businesses for upfront payment for inspections and never instructs anyone to give cash to a delivery driver or other third party (KVIA). The same day, a Pennsylvania fire department said businesses were getting calls announcing a fire inspection "tomorrow." That department doesn't conduct fire inspections, and it told owners not to let anyone in (Central Bucks Now).
It has already cost real money. In January 2026, a Tennessee sheriff's office said a bar paid a fake fire marshal's "fine" with $580 through a Bitcoin ATM and $1,126 through MoneyGram. The county fire marshal said his office only collects fees through its permit portal and building codes office, and won't request or accept crypto (WSMV).
Restaurants are also seeing fake health inspectors walk in. In September, Alabama's health department said a man told more than one restaurant he was an inspector but couldn't show a badge, and staff asked him to leave (Mobile County Health Department).
Red flags
- A fine you're hearing about for the first time, by phone, with a same-day deadline and a threat to close you (Fulton County Board of Health).
- Payment by Bitcoin ATM, MoneyGram, gift card or cash to a "driver." The fire offices in these alerts say they don't collect that way (WSMV, KVIA).
- An inspector who wants money in the field. In Fulton County, Ga., health inspectors aren't allowed to accept money on site (Fulton County Board of Health).
- No badge, or a badge they won't let you look at closely (Mobile County Health Department).
- A call announcing an inspection "tomorrow" from a department you've never dealt with (Central Bucks Now).
What to do
Hang up. Look up your local fire marshal or environmental health office yourself, on the city or county website, and ask whether you owe anything. Caller ID can be faked, so don't trust a number just because it looks local (FTC).
If someone shows up, ask for ID and call the office to confirm they work there before you let them behind the counter. If they won't show ID or they ask for money, call local police (Fulton County Board of Health).
Tell your staff today, especially anyone who opens or closes alone. Nobody pays a fine without the owner calling the office first.
Already paid? Call your bank or the payment service right away and ask about stopping or reversing it (FTC). Report it to local police, the FTC at its fraud report site and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
