BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) \u2014 The City of Bakersfield is raising the alarm over a potential scam soliciting large payments with the city\u2019s branding on it.<\/p>\n
The reported fraud includes scammers asking for a large sum of money to be paid to a city department relating to permits and other fees via wire transfer.<\/p>\n
The scams include low-resolution invoices with the city\u2019s logo, names and titles of staff and city addresses to make the scams \u201cappear legitimate.\u201d<\/p>\n
The city is also saying the fraudulent requests for payment include information about \u201cproperties or actions\u201d the victim would recognize, like names, businesses, permit information or other property details, aiming to make it look more legitimate as well.<\/p>\n
The scams are coming from an email address that is not legitimate or used by the city. The fraud emails are reportedly coming from the email domain, \u201cusa.com.\u201d<\/p>\n
The scammer emails also say that all correspondence need to be done via email and have urgent language in them, include deadlines and threats of application denials to \u201cconvince the potential victim to send payment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The string of scams has been reported to the Bakersfield Police Department.<\/p>\n
Residents who believe they\u2019ve been a victim of this scam or others, can report it to the Federal Internet Crimes Complaint Center at www.IC3.gov<\/a> or BPD at BPDFinancialFraudReports@bakersfieldpd.us or at 661-326-3536.<\/p>\n BPD is encouraging residents to check the FBI\u2019s common fraud and scams information page or the Federal Trade Commission\u2019s website to be more informed on scams.<\/p>\n The City of Bakersfield stated that the city is available to help if residents have a question about the legitimacy of a notice.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n