Crime & Safety

Lawrenceville Resident Among Those Targeted in Phony Ticket Scam

Several Gwinnett County residents have reported being contacted by an individual claiming to be with the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Department.

(Originally posted by Kristi Reed)

At least five area residents have been targeted in a phone scam in which a person pretending to be with the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Department attempts to trick the individual into paying a nonexistent ticket over the phone.

On June 23, a Dacula woman lost $347.15 after falling for the scam. At least four other individuals were also contacted on June 23.

A Buford woman reported a male identifying himself as a Sheriff's Department employee called and advised she had an outstanding speeding ticket which was not paid. 

"[The woman] stated that at that point she informed the male that it was unlikely he was affiliated with any police department," the officer wrote in the report.

The woman ended the call and provided police with the phone number from which the call originated.

A Buford man also received a call from a man claiming to be with the Sheriff's Department. The caller indicated a warrant had been issued for the Buford man due to an unpaid red light camera ticket. The Buford man said he had not received any ticket and asked the caller to provide the tag number that had reportedly been captured by the red light camera. The man was unable to do so and said the Buford man would have to contact the "traffic section" for the tag number.

The caller then informed the Buford man that an officer would be sent to his house to arrest him unless he paid the ticket with a credit card or Green Dot card. The Buford man advised that he was not going to pay until he confirmed the ticket was legitimate and told the caller his wife was on her cell phone contacting police. The caller reportedly hung up the phone at that point.

Another Buford woman received a similar call on June 23. Fearing she would be arrested, the woman went to Walmart, obtained the Green Dot card and gave the law enforcement impersonator the number. Once she returned home and told her husband what happened, he told her to cancel the card and get a refund. According to the police report, the woman was able to do so.

In another June 23 case, a Lawrenceville woman was advised she needed to immediately pay a ticket in order to avoid jail. The woman asked if she could go to the Gwinnett County Police Department to pay the fines and was told she could not.

"[The woman] advised the entire time she thought the call was very strange since she was not allowed to go to a police station and pay for the fines," the officer noted in the report.

The woman also expressed concern that the caller had her name, phone number and address.

"I advised [the woman] it is not common practice for police departments to call and demand money over the phone," the officer wrote.

The woman did not provide the caller with any payment information.

All five cases are listed as active.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.