SUWANEE, Ga. — Suwanee police are searching for a man caught on doorbell camera collecting $25,000 from a woman who believed he was a law enforcement officer.
The scheme marks the first time police have seen suspects in this type of fraud show up in person to collect money.
“To actually show up at her house is pretty brazen,” said Captain Robert Thompson with the Suwanee Police Department.
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The scheme began when suspects learned the woman’s relative was in jail. They called pretending to be with the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office, according to police.
“They found out that he was in jail, reached out to her pretending to be the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office, saying that she needed to post bond for him through an app,” Thompson said.
A woman working with him used a spoofed phone number that showed “Gwinnett County” on the victim’s caller ID, the victim said.
After she sent payments, the suspects claimed she had an outstanding warrant for missing jury duty and showed her a fake warrant, according to a police report.
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The suspects told her an officer would come to her home to collect additional money. They allegedly kept her on the phone while she went to the bank to withdraw cash.
The man captured on doorbell video came to her home twice to collect the money, video shows. Investigators want the public’s help in identifying the man.
Thompson warns the suspects may target others.
“I believe that they’re going to try to victimize other people,” he said.
The Suwanee Police Department is reminding the public that:
- Law enforcement agencies never request payment via apps, gift cards or cash pickups
- Caller ID can be spoofed and should not be trusted as being legitimate
- Any demand for money tied to threats of arrest are red flags
Police ask anyone with information about the case or the suspects shown in some surveillance photos to contact Det. Dawn Zaenglein at 770-904-7627 or by calling the Suwanee Police Department.
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