The City of Yorkton is warning residents about a scam after someone went door-to-door pretending to be part of the city’s water survey and tried to get inside a home. The city says it received a report of the incident and wants people to know the visit was not legitimate.
The only real water survey from the city is online at yorkton.ca/watersurvey. There are no city workers going door-to-door asking about water or trying to come inside homes. Anyone who says they are with a city water survey at your door should not be let in, and you should not give them any personal or financial details.
The city is currently running a real online water quality survey to hear what residents think about local water management. That survey is part of a bigger project to upgrade Yorkton’s wastewater treatment plant. But city officials stress they are not doing any in-person surveys at homes.
If you get a visit or a call from someone claiming to be from a city water survey and you are not sure if it is real, you can call the city at 306-786-1700 to check. The city says anyone who sees suspicious activity should report it to local police.
Water-related door-to-door scams are not new. Similar tricks have been reported in other Canadian cities this year, including a water survey scam in Guelph, and water testing impersonation scams in Calgary and Barrie. In those cases, people have used fake surveys or testing offers to try to get into homes or collect personal information. The Saskatchewan RCMP also warned in June about text message scams in the province and continue to look into fraud complaints.
The city wants everyone to stay alert and remember that if someone shows up uninvited talking about a water survey, it is a scam.
