Topeka ? The Kansas Department of Agriculture is advising businesses to be wary of someone claiming to be a department employee demanding on-the-spot payment for licenses or inspections.

The agency says it’s received a report from southeastern Kansas of someone impersonating a KDA employee and accepting a check in person to renew the license of a regulated business.

Other businesses in the area have reported visits from a phony KDA inspector asking for cash to perform a food safety inspection.

Erik Wisner, KDA’s food safety policy director, says the agency never collects money on site for inspections. Wisner says all fees from regulated businesses are sent directly to Topeka.