For immediate release April 9, 2021
Residents should be wary of men pretending to be Minot City employees
Residents should be wary of two men alleging to be employees with the City of Minot’s water and sewer department who say they need to enter homes to check water meters. “We don’t typically show up unannounced. Something like could happen in an emergency, like when there’s a water main break in the area, but even that would be very unusual,” said John Reynolds, superintendent of the City’s water and sewer department. If City of Minot employees come to a home or business, they will be wearing City of Minot apparel like a yellow vest with the City logo, and will be driving a City of Minot vehicle with the City’s official logo on the side. “Typically, residents start the process themselves by calling us to report a problem with their meter,” said Reynolds. “When they call us, we’ll set up an appointment and send a crew out at that time. We don’t go around changing or checking water meters for no reason.” If a resident feels at all uncomfortable, they should ask the visitors for identification, or ask for the phone number of the Water Department (857-4150), then call the department to verify the visitor’s name. If a resident still feels uncomfortable, they should not let the visitors into their home or business. Reynolds said crews do not need to enter a home to read the meter; that process can be done electronically from outside the home. If residents suspect the visit is a scam, they should call the Minot Police Department at 852-0111 to report the incident. Any information residents can provide, such as a vehicle license plate number or description of the visitors, would be helpful to police.