He turned on the blue lights and hit the gas as he indicated for the car to stop. However, the driver kept careening down the road with a cell phone to her ear! At last, he managed to corner the speeding vehicle and got a look at her face. It was at that moment that he realized that this was no ordinary traffic stop.
Cop Pulled Her Over For Speeding And Ended Up Rescuing Her From A Scam
He Had An Obsession
When he was a young boy, Deputy John Garrison had an obsession with speedy cars. He liked the rush that he got as he watched high-speed chases in the movies and on the news. There were times when they ended in disaster, but many also ended in justice. The authorities did not fail to catch the bad guys before anything terrible could happen. Despite this, his mother felt concerned about his obsession.
He Had An Obsession
Finally Feeling Free
During his sixteenth birthday, he passed the driving test with excellent results. However, his mother was not very excited at the thought of him on the road all by himself. Even though she was reluctant, she gave him the keys to the truck. She warned him, “It’s a small town, John. If we hear one word about you being reckless, you can kiss the truck goodbye.” He knew that the road could be dangerous, but he had no clue that he was going to witness this in person!
Finally Feeling Free
There Was Something Wrong
He loved nothing more than driving around the neighborhood. In fact, John would also offer to fetch his friends from school and bring them home. He never neglected to drive with care and prioritized the safety of his friends. When he got home one day, he did not see his mom’s car in the driveway. This made his heart beat very fast and gave him a weird feeling. He got in touch with his dad right away.
There Was Something Wrong
She Was In An Accident
When his father picked up, John found out that his mom was in the hospital. She had been the victim of a hit and run! He could not believe that someone out there would behave like that. This accident affected his life a lot. There was no way that he was going to rest while the perp was still on the loose!
She Was In An Accident
He Entered Law Enforcement
As soon as John graduated from high school, he had a clear idea of what he wanted to do. His friends applied to colleges in different states, but he wanted to remain in Florida. It was his dream to make a difference in the place he called home all his life. When he told his family that he wanted to be a police officer, they were not surprised. It has since been 35 years, but John has never looked back!
He Entered Law Enforcement
He Witnessed Trouble
John fulfilled his goal when he became the Deputy at the Highland’s Sheriff’s Office! However, he had been going through a difficult day. He took the late shift the previous night and felt the effects of the four hours of sleep. He then pulled over onto the side of the road and sipped from his cup of espresso from Starbucks. All of a sudden, he felt the squad car rock on the suspension as a red car flew past him!
He Witnessed Trouble
He Started To Chase The Car
He sighed and flicked on the blue lights and started to follow the car. It was a red Cadillac speeding out of his view. The jolt of adrenaline was all he needed to start the day. Deputy John garrison hit the gas and started chasing the vehicle. The squad car made its way through the traffic as he turned the siren on and commanded the driver to stop. However, it looked like the driver was not paying attention to him.
He Started To Chase The Car
Being Ignored
She had been talking on the phone and looked oblivious to the frantic signals that Deputy John Garrison was putting out. Could she be trying to ignore him? He was annoyed and sped up until he was right beside the vehicle. However, he knew that there was something deeply wrong when he noticed her horrified expression. It was clear that this was not a traffic stop like any other.
Being Ignored
Catching Up
At long last, he was able to pull her over. He could see that she was panicking. Even though he stopped to give her a ticker, he could not help but feel bad for her. What could have made her act in such an agitated manner? Concerned, he asked her, ‘Are you having a medical emergency? Is everything OK?’
Catching Up
His Gut Feeling
She covered the phone with a hand before she replied to his questions. Even though she said that she was fine, the cop saw that she was teary. Clearly, she had been lying about this. “I’ve got Amazon on the phone…” she explained to him. As soon as John Garrison heard this, he knew exactly what was happening. His instincts had been right!
His Gut Feeling
He Took The Phone
He motioned for her to give him the phone. Without any hesitation, she complied. The cop took the phone and started to talk to the caller. He said that he is the son of this woman and asked what they want his “mom” to do. The person at the other end of the line gave him the instructions once more. This was the moment that Deputy Garrison confirmed what he had been thinking all along.
He Took The Phone
The Instructions
The man told her that she had to contest a $2,000 charge on Amazon. If she wanted to retrieve the money, she needed to visit Walgreens and buy an eBay gift card that had a blocking code. However, she first had to add $200 to it if she wanted to get the code and the card. According to the caller, the $200 fee would be reimbursed when they verified her account details. But what was really going on here?
The Instructions
Game Over
“Just let them know it is for your personal use… don’t say anything like it is for Amazon or anything… otherwise… your money will get wasted,” the caller told him. The cop already had enough of this, so he said, “Ok, so don’t mention… don’t mention it’s for a scam?” It was clear that the game was over!
Game Over
The Truth
Once more, the man rattled off the directions to him. Deputy Garrison was fuming by then! He knew just what to tell this person. “This is Deputy Garrison. I work for the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office,” the police officer said in a firm tone. “I actually pulled her over for speeding and intercepted your scam.”
The Truth
Caught
He could tell that the caller got flustered right away. It was likely that the scammer knew that he was no longer going to get money out of this poor woman. “You should be ashamed of yourself because you’re not doing your job properly,” he told the police officer in a defensive manner. “You are the scammer. You are the scammer,” he shot back. “You are not doing your job properly!”
Caught
A Con
The scammer dropped the call after this. “She thought she was saving $1,800 by doing that. The way he explained it, was she would get the $200 paid back,” he explained in an interview. The woman then thanked Deputy Garrison. He just saved her from a con. It was worth it even though she would get a speeding ticket in return!
A Con
Nothing New
It was a good thing that Deputy Garrison was familiar with the scam that had been going on. He had seen many reports about these phone scams in the past. Sadly, there was not a lot of things that they could do to apprehend the scammer. There was a good chance that he used a disposable phone number and lived in a different country. However, the police officer could still do something about this.
Nothing New
Letting Her Go
He decided that he was going to waive the $200 speeding ticket of the woman. Instead, he just issued her a warning. Laughing, Deputy Garrison informed her, “You won $400 today!” The woman was grateful for all of his help. He did not only save her $200 for the scam, but he also decided not to give her a $200 speeding ticket.
Letting Her Go
Teaching Everyone
Deputy Garrison said that he is planning to stay in touch with her. He even has a presentation for those in the community. He wants to educate his fellow citizens about scams and how to identify them. In this day and age, there are plenty of scams about online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. Hopefully, he can do his part and help keep people as safe as possible!
Teaching Everyone
