Caller Offers Not to Blow up Bomb for $100
Dacula man said he received a phone call warning of an explosion near his house. Caller advised explosion would be “canceled” if victim met suspect at Hamilton Mill Walmart and made a $100 payment.
A Dacula, Ga. man said he received a phone call warning of an explosion near his house. Caller advised explosion would be “canceled” if he met suspect at Hamilton Mill Walmart and made a $100 payment.
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A Dacula man turned down an unusual phone solicitation Thursday afternoon.
The victim, who lives in Belfaire subdivision off Auburn Road, reportedly received a phone call at approximately 4 p.m. on April 12 from a caller with a “Jamaican” accent. According to the victim, the caller warned there was going to be an explosion in the area and asked the victim if he “wanted the bomb to be canceled.”
The suspect then inquired if the victim lived near the CVS on Auburn Road or the Walgreens on Braselton Highway. The victim replied that he lived in that area. The suspect asked if the victim could meet at the Hamilton Mill Walmart and allegedly told the victim to bring $100 if he wanted the explosion stopped.
The victim informed the suspect he was not going to meet at the Walmart. The victim said the caller began to speak again, but then hung up the phone.
The victim provided police with the phone number of the caller and advised that an online search revealed similar numbers with the same area codes have been used in other phone scams.
The case is listed as active.
Craig Reed
11:47 am on Friday, April 13, 2012
$100?!?! That's outrageous. Who says there's no inflation? I remember when you could have your car not blown up for free! I bet Clark Howard would recommend against contracting for these specialty services over the phone with unknown solicitors. Probably better to use eBay where you can get competitive auction bids or set a dont blow it up now proce and check out the sellers' history.
Kristi Reed
11:48 am on Friday, April 13, 2012
Haha! I think you are probably right about Clark Howard.
Mitch
12:44 pm on Friday, April 13, 2012
I think it is safe to say this caller is not al-qaeda material. If only the real terror group gave such courtesy calls.
Kristi Reed
1:50 pm on Friday, April 13, 2012
I guess we have to at least give him credit for a somewhat more imaginative phone scam than we typically see.
R++ - One of the famous "Dacula Crew"
6:55 pm on Friday, April 13, 2012
Polite too as it appeared he didn't want the client to have drive too far to make the payment, what an eco conscience… GO BIG GREEN!!
Kristi Reed
7:15 pm on Friday, April 13, 2012
True! Of course if he really wanted to make it convenient and environmentally friendly, he would have offered to take a credit card number or perhaps a PayPal payment.
Michael Dwells
9:55 am on Sunday, April 15, 2012
That's alarming. If the scammer knows your phone number, he probably knows where you're located, too. I'd hate to get a call like that on my home phone because I'm usually at work all day and my wife is left with our two kids. I'd hate to think of her getting such a call. This is why I encourage her to read through scam complaints posted at http://www.callercenter.com and take note of the phone numbers associated with the scam. And if the call is anonymous, I suggested she not take it. Anyway, if the call is important, the caller will leave a message on the voice mail.