Newspaper Page Text
The True Citizen, Wednesday, February 17, 2021 — Page 7A
^FOR THE RECORD
Phony Amazon callers are phishing for your info
KELVIN COLLINS
The COVID-19 pandemic
has people shopping online
and ordering from Amazon.
Naturally, scammers are find
ing ways to cash in. Better
Business Bureau is receiving
reports that con artists are
posing as Amazon employees,
calling people, and claiming to
need information about their
account or that something is
wrong with an order.
BBB warns you to be on the
lookout for suspicious calls
and emails because in some
cases, it looks like the call is
coming from BBB or other
official organizations. Spoofing
phone numbers is extremely
easy to accomplish with to
day’s technology.
Consumers describe an
swering a phone call to hear a
recorded message claiming to
be from Amazon stating there
is a problem with your Amazon
account. The messages range
from a fraudulent charge on
your Prime account to a lost or
damaged package to an unful
filled order for an iPhone. But
no matter what the recording is,
these scammers have the same
goal: getting your personal in
formation. The con artists will
either outright ask for credit
card and account login details.
Or, they will request remote
access to your computer under
the guise of “helping” to solve
the issue.
The Federal Trade Com
mission published examples
of these scam calls on their
website at FTC .gov.
Flow to Spot this Scam:
• Be skeptical of email and
unsolicited calls. Some depart
ments at Amazon will call cus
tomers , but Amazon will never
ask you to disclose or verify
sensitive personal information
or offer you a refund you do not
expect. Amazon will never ask
you to make a payment outside
of their website and will never
ask you for remote access to
your device.
• Ignore unsolicited mes
sages that ask for personal
information. Amazon will
also never send you an unso
licited message that asks you
to provide sensitive personal
information, such as your tax
ID, bank account number or
credit card information.
• Ignore calls for immediate
action. Scammers try to get
you to act before you think by
creating a sense of urgency.
Don't fall for it.
• Beware of requests to pay
via wire transfer, prepaid debit
BURKE COUNTY JAIL BOOKINGS
FEB. 1-7
Henry Dale
Moss, 22
GA Hwy 23,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Feb. 12
Burglary in the 1st
degree
Michael Leon
Morris, 19
US Hwy 25 South,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Feb 12
Probation violation
Laquandra Bryawn
Lemon, 32
Conniston Dr.,
Hephzibah
BCSO, Feb. 9
Terroristic threats
and acts
Rashad Clifford
Carter, 42
Drew Lane,
Hephzibah
BCSO, Feb. 11
A ggravated assault;
cruelty to children in
the 1st degree
Jermaine
Singleton, 43
Tomoka Court.,
Waynesboro
WPD, Feb. 10
Theft by taking-mo-
tor vehicle; felony
Xena Alexandria
Myers, 23
Corley Road,
Hephzibah
BCSO, Feb. 8
Superior court felony
sentence
Sandra Dee
Bishop, 57
Magnolia Acres,
Waynesboro
WPD, Feb. 13
Safekeeping for
Screven County SO;
failure to appear
(simple battery)
Brandon Mandall
Williams, 28
Mills Road,
Waynesboro
WPD, Feb. 11
Simple battery-
family violence (3
counts); cruelty
to children in the
3rd degree-family
violence (2 counts);
criminal trespass-
family violence (2
counts)
Lakeisha Shantay
Royals, 26
First St., Sylvania
BCSO, Feb. 12
DUi-driving under
the influence (alco
hol); failure to main
tain lane; holding/
supporting wireless
telecommunications
device
Roberson, 52
Old Waynesboro
Road, Millen
WPD, Feb. 13
DU/-driving under
the influence (alco
hol); endangerment
of a child under
14, DUI (3 counts);
failure to maintain
lane; *housing for
WPD
Monquayvious
Seydreke Marshall,
20
Stone Ave.,
Waynesboro
WPD, Feb. 10
Bench warrant-
Municipa/ *housing
for WPD; probation
violation for finger-
printable charge-
misdemeanor (2
counts)
Bobby Bernard
Jones, 23
Woodland Terrace
Dr., Waynesboro
BCSO, Feb. 11
Possession of
a firearm by a
convicted felon;
marijuana-pos
session of less
than one ounce;
no brake lights
or working turn
signals; battery
AGENCIES
BCSO: Burke County Sheriff’s Office;
WPD: Waynesboro Police Department;
GSP: Georgia State Patrol;
MPD: Midville Police Department;
SPD: Sardis Police Department;
DOC: Department of Corrections
DNR: Department of Natural Resources
Rocquis Demond
Watson, 19
Lake Crystal Dr.,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Feb. 9
Possession of
marijuana with the
intent to distribute;
possession of a
firearm during the
commission of a
crime; obstruction
of law enforcement
officers-misde-
meanor; posses
sion of marijuana
within drug-free
zone; unlawful
street gang activity;
probation violation-
misdemeanor
DISCLAIMER NOTICE: ALL ARE PRESUMED INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN A COURT OF LAW
card or CashApp (such as
Venmo, MoneyPak, iTunes
or similar cards). These are
almost always a sign of fraud.
• Report it to Amazon. Any
customer that receives a ques
tionable email or call from
a person impersonating an
Amazon employee report them
to Amazon customer service.
Amazon investigates these
complaints and will takes ac
tion, if warranted.
These calls usually say you
can conveniently press 1 to
speak with someone or they
provide a number to call. Don’t
do either. It’s a scam. They’re
trying to steal your personal
information, like your account
password or your credit card
number.
If you get an unexpected call
or message about a problem
with any of your accounts,
hang up.
• Do not press 1 to speak with
customer support
• Do not call a phone number
they gave you
• Do not give out your per
sonal information
• Do not press any button
claiming that they will remove
your number from their list.
If you think there may actu
ally be a problem with one
of your accounts, contact the
company using a phone num
ber or website you know is real.
For More Information, read
BBB's tips on phishing scams
and tips for online shopping
safely. Learn how to identify
whether a call or message is
really from Amazon. If you’ve
gotten a phony call or been the
victim of another scam, make
others aware by filing a report
on BBB Scam Tracker.
Kelvin Collins is President/
CEO of the Better Business
Bureau serving the Fall Line
Corridor.
BURKE EMA REPORT
The burke County Emergency Management Agency re
sponded to 98 patients’ calls during the week ending Feb. 14.
Of those, 70 resulted in transports, including 44 to August
hospitals and two to other out of county hospitals. Forty four
of the transports were determined to be emergencies and 26
were non-emergent.
The agency also answered 22 fire calls during the week.
They included two authorized controlled burns, one outside
waste/dumpster fire, two power lines down, nine rescues, six
public service calls and two unspecified calls.
Deputies find trouble
after they smell weed
ROY F. CHALKER JR.
rchalker@bellsouth.net
The aroma of marijuana led
to the arrest of and multiple
charges against a 19 year-old
Waynesboro man Tuesday,
Feb. 9.
Burke County deputies
picked up the odor as they
passed Rocquis Watson walk
ing along West Ninth Street.
Since Watson was the only
person in the area, they began
to follow him and he responded
with what they described as an
attempt to avoid them.
Refusing to respond to mul
tiple commands to stop, Wat
son continued to run away
from Deputies Crispin and
Edgemon.
After a lengthy pursuit on
foot, Edgemon was forced to
deploy his Taser in order to
subdue Watson in the backyard
of a home on Martin Luther
King Drive.
Once in custody, Watson
volunteered the fact that he
was armed, and deputies found
a 9 mm semi-automatic hand
gun in his pants, loaded with
18 rounds of ammunition.
A search of a small black
bag Watson carried revealed
approximately 15 grams of
marijuana, a digital scale and
$184 in cash.
Watson was taken to the
Burke County Detention Cen
ter and charged with obstruct
ing law enforcement officers,
and multiple drug and weapons
charges.
Nine inmates involved in
riot at Detention Center
ROY F. CHALKER JR.
rchalker@bellsouth.net
Nine Burke County inmates
face multiple new charges after
a melee broke out at the deten
tion center on Feb. 11.
Charged with rioting, bat
tery and participating in gang
activity are Tacorey Lakes,
26, James Burley, 36, Malik
Palmer, 21, Antwan Tukes, 30,
Jermaine Jackson, 22, Calvin
Powell, 19, Mikell Green, 20.
Simeon Moore, 27 and Rickey
Wheeler, 18.
According to reports, the
incident started when Tacorey
Lakes was being escorted to
his cell after returning from
court. Lakes ran away from
Corrections Officer Jonathan
McGahee and began fighting
with James Burley. As Mc
Gahee attempted to stop the
fight, inmate Calvin Powell ran
into the dayroom and attacked
Malik Palmer.
As multiple inmates joined
the fray, a call was put out to all
available units to go to the jail
and assist the jail staff during
the chaos.
Surveillance video showed
that during the riot, Burley
stabbed Lakes with a hand
made shank, resulting in an
additional charge of aggravated
assault.
Chief Jailer at the facility,
Maj. Dedric Smith, said Tues
day, “The Burke County Sher
iff’s Office will not tolerate any
acts of violence or disorder in
our detention center. Those
who choose to participate in
gang activity, to include acts of
violence, will be prosecuted.”
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