Dunwoody police say there has been a “significant spike” in telephone and email scams. Now, they want to stop more residents from falling victim.
The department is hosting a free “fraud prevention” seminar Thursday, Feb. 20, aimed at educating people on how to avoid getting scammed.
"The scammers can be hard to stop since many are overseas and use untraceable phone numbers," the department said in a post promoting the event. "The best way to avoid falling for scams is to become educated on the tactics."
Recently, some stories of scams in metro Atlanta have attracted broad attention, including the case of a UGA student from Alpharetta who lost more than $30,000 during a 10-hour call with a scammer last year.
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A 50-year-old businesswoman from Cobb County reported a similar situation and said she purchased $35,500 worth of gift cards to send the scammers. Both cases started with a robocall claiming their Social Security numbers had been compromised, and that their identities had been stolen and used for crimes.
The presentation in Dunwoody will include information on how to identify red flags, the definition of identity theft and how to avoid becoming a victim.
The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited and registration is required, the police department said.
For more information, please contact Community Outreach Officer Anwar Sillah at anwar.sillah@dunwoodyga.gov or 678-382-6933.
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