Jonesboro Fire Department Warns of Phone Scam Targeting Businesses

Scammers impersonating the Jonesboro Fire Department (JFD) are calling local businesses, demanding payment for bogus fire safety inspections and threatening fines if the bill is not paid. JFD Chief Jason Wills warned Thursday that at least one Jonesboro business has already received the call. The pattern is not new for Jonesboro: 14 months earlier, the city warned residents about a different phone scam that used a fire department name to solicit donations.

The fire department does not charge for business inspections, Wills said, and it will never call to demand payment over the phone. Businesses that receive a call should hang up, then dial the department’s own published line to verify the caller’s claim.

The Jonesboro Fire Department’s Warning

The K8 Newsdesk reported the warning on June 11, 2026. Wills said someone is calling local businesses requesting payment for fire safety inspections, then threatening a large fine when the owner hesitates. The chief’s message to businesses is direct: hang up, then call JFD at 870-932-2428 to verify any concern before sharing a name, an account number, or a card.

Wills framed the scam in blunt terms.

Please be advised that the Jonesboro Fire Department does not charge a fee for business inspections. We will never call and demand payment over the phone.

Wills, the chief of the Jonesboro Fire Department, made the statement to the K8 Newsdesk in the June 11, 2026 report. The same line is the verification handle every targeted business should reach for. A real JFD inspection is scheduled in person, on the department’s own timeline, never by phone-collected payment.

Wills also told the newsroom to call the department’s own published number rather than the caller’s number, and to refuse to share any personal or financial information. The verification protocol works against the same template no matter which state the caller claims to be calling from.

Why the Fire Department Brand Travels So Well With Scammers

A caller claiming to be a fire official can demand payment, threaten fines, and create urgency. Jonesboro is not the first city to learn this lesson; the same template has surfaced in multiple states with different scripts attached. Chief Brandon Skaggs of the Clarksville Fire Department said he has heard similar reports from other departments across the country, which fits the pattern.

Here is what the same pattern has looked like across three reported incidents in the last 22 months.

All three incidents used a public-safety agency name, with two Jonesboro versions using a fire department name and the Clarksville variant using a fire marshal title. Chief Skaggs said only one business in Clarksville had reported a suspicious call, but the approach had already surfaced in other cities. The Oton Technology site has tracked the same shape under other agency names, including a wave of government imposter scams built around federal inspectors and a Singapore-wide Microsoft tech support scam that cost victims $1.7 million since February. The same template has been attached to other public-safety brands, including the Jonesboro fire department. The June 2026 Jonesboro warning is the most recent of the three incidents.

The Same City Got Hit Last Year, Differently

Jonesboro’s earlier scam, from April 7, 2025, went after a different audience with a different ask. The City of Jonesboro warned residents that callers were soliciting donations for a fake “Jonesboro Volunteer Fire Department.” The city explicitly said the fire department and the city were not making any fundraising phone calls. The same fire department brand was used in both warnings, but the asks differed.

Two phone numbers were tied to that earlier scam: 501-667-8040 and 870-935-5551. The city told residents to refuse any request for personal or financial information, and to report the call to the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office at 800-482-8982 or to the FTC. The April 2025 warning came from the city itself; the June 2026 warning came from JFD through the local TV station. The shift in messenger tracks the shift in target, from residents who might give to a familiar-sounding fire charity to businesses that might pay to make a regulator go away. Both warnings used the same fire department brand to trigger a compliance reflex in the target.

In Clarksville, the Calls Asked for Photographs

In Clarksville, Indiana, the same script ran with a different twist. The Clarksville Fire Department warned on August 20, 2024 that someone was calling local businesses, claiming to be a fire marshal, and asking employees to email photographs of entrances, windows, and offices for a fake security check. Chief Brandon Skaggs said only one business in Clarksville had reported a suspicious call, but the approach had already surfaced in other cities. The Clarksville version used the same script to ask for photographs instead of money.

The Clarksville warning included a second, more serious layer. Businesses that had handed over the photos had also experienced a burglary or a robbery afterward, Skaggs said, with the photographs used to preplan entrances, exits, and schedules. The fire marshal impersonation was a cover for old-fashioned reconnaissance, not a one-shot payment scheme.

Skaggs spelled out the same rule Jonesboro would later repeat.

If we have business with businesses in the community, you’ll see us in person. We’ll be in uniform and we’ll also have credentials.

Skaggs, the chief of the Clarksville Fire Department, made the statement to WLKY in the August 20, 2024 report. The department does not use personal cell phones for any official business, does not ask for photographs or statements by phone or text, and never collects payment over the wire. The Jonesboro warning runs the same logic in a different state, against a different target, in a different year.

What a Targeted Business Should Do Right Now

The protocol Jonesboro and Clarksville published is the same one any business can use. Stop the call, do not pay, do not send, and verify out-of-band using a number you already trust.

The red flags are consistent across all three reported versions:

• A caller claiming to be a fire official demands payment over the phone.
• A caller demands immediate action, with a fine, a closure, or a missed deadline on the line.
• A caller asks for photographs of the premises, bank or card details, login credentials, or other private information.
• A caller ID display, a text thread, or an email domain looks like the real agency but cannot be matched to a known number when checked.

If a Jonesboro business receives one of these calls, hang up and dial 870-932-2428, the JFD line Wills pointed to. Outside Jonesboro, the same protocol works against the same template: stop the call, look up the agency’s published number on its own website, and dial that number to verify. Reports can be filed with the FTC through the agency’s online fraud reporting form, and Arkansas residents have a second channel through the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office at 800-482-8982.

Both Jonesboro incidents and the Clarksville case ended with the same public-safety warning. The fire department will never call to demand payment, will never use a personal cell phone for official business, and will never ask for photographs of a premises by phone. Businesses that hear otherwise should treat the call as a probe and route the conversation away from the caller, not into it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Jonesboro Fire Department really calling businesses to demand payment for inspections?

No. JFD does not charge a fee for business inspections, and the department will never call to demand payment over the phone. Chief Jason Wills made that point directly in the June 11, 2026 warning. Real inspections are scheduled in person and on the department’s own timeline; the phone-collected bill is the giveaway.

What should a Jonesboro business owner do if they get one of these calls?

Hang up without providing any personal or financial information, then call JFD at 870-932-2428 to verify. Wills’s standing instruction is to use that number, not the caller’s number, to confirm any concern.

Has a similar fire department impersonation scam hit other cities?

Yes. Clarksville, Indiana warned local businesses about a related scam in August 2024, and a broader pattern of government imposter fraud has surfaced across the country. The Oton Technology site has tracked the same shape in other agency names, including a wave of imposter calls that target past crypto fraud victims.

Where should a business report a suspicious call in Arkansas?

Reports can go to the FTC through its online fraud reporting form and to the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office at 800-482-8982, the channels the city pointed residents to during the April 2025 Jonesboro donation scam. Out-of-state businesses can file the same FTC report.

Is the 2025 Jonesboro donation scam connected to the 2026 business scam?

They are not confirmed as the same operators, but they share the fire department brand and the same approach: a phone call, a familiar name, and an ask that pressures the target to act before verifying. Jonesboro has now been hit twice in 14 months by callers leaning on the fire department’s reputation.