TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Officials at Tucson Water are warning people about scammers going door-to-door pretending to test tap water for a potentially fatal organism.

Tucson Water officials say they've gotten several complants about people saying they are company employees offering to test for an amoeba that killed a Lake Havasu City boy last month. The amoeba, called Naegleria fowleri (nuh-GLEER-ee-uh FOWL'-erh-eye), enters through the nose and then works its way into the brain, where it is nearly always fatal.

Spokesman Mitch Basefsky says customers reported that a person came to their home, flashed a badge and said they needed to test for the amoeba. The conversation quickly turned into a sales pitch for a water treatment system.

Basefky says the amoeba can't live in chlorinated tap water. Real workers wear uniforms and won't ever try to sell anything.

---

Information from: Tucson Citizen, http://www.tucsoncitizen.com

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.