Phone Scammer to Victim: Pay Up or Risk Losing UGA Degree

Athens-Clarke County Police said someone scammed a 20-year-old UGA student by telling him his degree would be in jeopardy if he didn’t pay them thousands.

According to a police media release, the scammer posed as an Atlanta police officer in a phone call and told the victim he would be filing warrants “through UGA” on him for various offenses. The victim was told if he didn’t send $4,500 on a “green dot” debit card, his degree would be affected.

The student sent the money before calling police Tuesday afternoon, the release stated.

The victim was on the phone with the suspect when an officer met with him, according to the media release. The officer took the phone to speak with the suspect, who then gave the officer a list of charges and said Atlanta PD was filing warrants “on behalf of UGA.”

When the officer confronted the caller, he called the officer “a stupid American,” and said he had the victim’s money, according to the media release.

The call then ended.

From Athens PD: “Law enforcement officials will not call and ask for money to “take care of” warrants. If you receive a call like this, hang up. Do not send money or give out personnel information. Call your local sheriff’s office to see if you have outstanding warrants.”