ROSWELL, Ga. May 15 2013-- Last Friday night, Bill Cooper of Roswell got a phone call from a man claiming to be a lieutenant with the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.The caller said he had a photo of Cooper's car speeding through the Georgia 400 toll booth.
"He persisted in his claim that they were going to send somebody out to arrest me unless I gave him a credit card number so he could put a $242 fine down," Cooper told 11Alive News on Monday.
But Cooper smelled a rat. He knew the Georgia 400 toll booths have cameras to see if people have paid to go through, but they do NOT photograph speeders. What's more, he wasn't even driving on the road when the caller claimed the photo was taken.
"The more I kept him on the line, the more I realized that he was feeding me a line of bull," Cooper said.
He didn't fall for it, but Roswell Police reports show 17 people complained about similar speeding ticket phone calls over the weekend, and some did give out credit card or bank account information.
Investigators believe there could be many more victims who didn't realize it was a scam.
"The police never will call people up and demand payment over the phone for anything," Roswell Police Officer Lisa Holland told 11Alive.
She urged anyone getting a similar call to contact Roswell Police at 770-640-4100.
Even though he didn't fall for it, Cooper said the scammers were persistent.
"The Friday night call targeted me; the call we got last night about 7:15 targeted my wife," he added.
He and his wife didn't fall for that one either.
Cooper gave the same warning police always give out to avoid such scams.
"Never, never, never give out personal information over the telephone or online unless you know exactly who you're talking to," he added.
That's never, never, NEVER.
Officer Holland advised anyone getting such a call to get as much information from the caller, including a name and a possible call back number, and then contact the police.
She also pointed out that any questions about tickets, fines or traffic court can be obtained directly from those agencies.
Source-11Alive