Phone and email scammers are at it again. Advisories have been issued by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) to help residents avoid becoming a con game victim.
The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office has received reports of an unidentified person contacting residents via telephone telling them they have missed a court date or jury duty and now must pay a fine to avoid arrest, said Sheriff Barry Babb.
“This is a scam,” Babb said. “In most instances, residents will be asked to go to a local Kroger or CVS pharmacy to purchase a pre-paid card or MoneyGram. If you have received one of these calls, please take note of the date, time, phone number and name the caller used. You may contact your local agency to report these calls.”
Scam calls of this nature are often traced back to phones smuggled into state prisons. A quick Internet search of the phrase “smuggled phones in Georgia prisons” or “jury duty scams” will provide several stories with more information, Babb said.
Anyone with questions is asked to contact Capt. Harper with the Criminal Investigations Division via email at eharper@fayettecountyga.gov or by phone at 770-716-4763.
In another matter, the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) and the Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR) are warning the public of an email scam that asks drivers to verify their driving license details or face license suspension, said DDS spokesperson Susan Sports.
The email, which claims to have been sent from the Department of Motor Vehicles (MVD), appears to be a common phishing scam designed to steal personal information from recipients. Information collected may be used by Internet criminals to commit identity theft, Sports said.
“MVD employees do not contact customers to ask for personal or confidential information, such as driver’s license or Social Security numbers via email, and anyone who receives such a communication should consider it is a scam to steal your identity,” said Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicles Division Director Georgia Steele. “We want Georgians to protect themselves against these crimes by never providing personal information in email.”
DDS Commissioner Rob Mikell said DDS does not ask customers to provide personal information through email.
“Customers that do conduct business through the secure DDS website, www.dds.ga.gov, will receive email confirmation from a secure email, specifically from OnlineServices@dds.ga.gov, after their service is complete,” Mikell said.
Mikell said customers should beware of deceptive DMV websites that claim to provide information and services for Georgia drivers. The official state driver services website is www.dds.ga.gov (not .org or .com).
Phishing scammers use many and varied tactics to trick victims into handing over their personal or financial information. Georgians should be very cautious of any unsolicited emails that claim to be government departments, banks or companies that instruct them to follow a link or open an attachment to update or verify personal information, Sports said.
