Scam reports are on the rise
Local police say there has been an increase in the number of scam reports being filed with their departments, and people need to be aware.
The Rome and Floyd County police departments are seeing an increase in reports of scams, and some people are losing thousands of dollars.
Rome police Sgt. Pete Sailors said a recurring scam theme has been callers using names of an actual federal court judge or Floyd County Sheriff’s Office deputy to lend credence to their narrative. In these imposter scams, people are told they have missed jury duty in federal court or have an outstanding arrest warrant, but by paying a fine it can all be cleared up — immediacy is emphasized.
“If you miss jury duty you will not have to pay fines,” said Sailors.
“These guys will use the scams. You’ve got a warrant out for you, you’ve got a ticket, you’ve missed jury duty,” said Floyd County police Maj. Jeff Jones.
In general, the form of payment requested from callers is through prepaid money cards, such as MoneyPak or Green Dot cards, they said.
There is often a promise from the caller to meet in person to hand over the cards, Sailors said. But then they will call back with some excuse as to why they cannot meet, so callers ask for the card numbers to be read to them. Once they have this information then the money can easily be accessed and pulled off the card, he continued.
No one from a government agency “is going to call you and say anything like that” and make requests for payment this way, Jones said.
Sailors and Jones said all the claims a caller makes need to be independently verified. In certain cases a caller will provide a number to call for verification, but this is part of the swindle. If people are worried, hang up from the caller and look up the number for an agency independently to make an inquiry.
To report a scam to Rome police, call Sailors at 706-238-5118, or for a Floyd County report call Jones at 706-291-5223.
Elderly individuals are regularly the target of these calls, Jones said, but any of those who are victims of scams are driven into action out of fear propagated by the caller.
“Folks don’t want to get in trouble,” Jones said, and they are scared into following along with the scam.
Both departments have active investigations underway into cases where people have lost money, but these types of investigations involve long processes, including legal requests to phone companies and financial institutions.
“We attempt to follow the money trail,” Sailors said, trying to figure out where the money from the victim’s prepaid card went or was accessed from.
Jones said many of these calls appearing to be local actually source from outside the U.S. And when the money is transferred to another country, it puts the department out of its jurisdiction. However, Georgia prisons have also been the origin of scam calls, including the case of Christopher Dale Hudgins, a Rome man now facing two federal charges for his alleged connection to a phone scam collective at Autry State Prison. He was also charged locally.
Other imposter scams involve the IRS and claims of needing to pay back taxes — often around tax season — or a person declaring to be from a company seeking to refund money from a previous purchase. However, several recent cases involved social media, including Instagram and Facebook.
Jones said locals have reported being contacted by someone on Facebook Messenger who appears to be on their friend lists and will ask for money, providing a specific account to send it to. He said people need to verify with that friend through a text message or a call to see if it is really them.
Also, there have been reports of people receiving emails, generated from outside the country, threatening to shut down their Facebook account if they do not pay up.