The City of Ojai Advises Residents: Do not open a Spam Email about Home Security that Claims to be from the “Ojai Council”

The City of Ojai advises residents not to open a spam email that is circulating in our community and claims to be from the “Ojai Council.” The spam email claims an alleged increase in local crime, and it encourages recipients to click on a link in the email for a free home security system.

This email is spam and was not sent by the City of Ojai. Additionally, links in the email could, and have been reported to, contain a computer virus. Recipients of the email are encouraged to consider deleting the email without opening it and to exercise caution in clicking links or opening attachments in unsolicited emails as they may harm your computer.

City of Ojai Email Correspondence Procedures

Under no circumstances does the City send out blanket e-mails to all residents. The City of Ojai only sends emails to individuals who choose to sign up via the City’s website for meeting agenda notifications for the Ojai City Council and city commissions, or in response to particular applications or inquiries. Those emails are clearly labeled as being from the City of Ojai and are never labeled as from the “Ojai Council.” If you have any questions regarding an email that appears to be from the City, please contact City Hall at (805) 646-5581 and the City can verify whether an email is from the City.

People interested in signing up for meeting agenda notifications may visit www.ojaicity.org, click on the agenda page for the panel they are interested in, and then click on the yellow “Agenda Sign-up” link. The online sign-up options clearly state what notices the City will send and participants may change their preferences at any time.

Furthermore, the City of Ojai does not endorse any brand of products and does not send links to free product give-aways.

Crime Statistics

The spam email characterizes Ojai as experiencing a recent dramatic increase in home robberies. The Ojai Police Department confirms that that this claim is inaccurate and inflated. Home burglaries in Ojai are rare. Per the Ojai Police Department’s 2019 annual report on crime statistics, only two residential burglaries were reported in Ojai for 2018, zero for 2017 and three in 2016.

To read the complete version of the most recent Ojai Police Department annual report on crime statistics, click here. Members of the public who would like more information regarding local crime statistics may contact the Ojai Police Department at (805) 646-1414.

For More Information

For more information please contact Luis Gomez at Ojai City Hall at gomez@ojaicity.org, or (805) 646-5581 x103.