Cabarrus Co. woman says inmate called her, claimed to be deputy

CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — A Harrisburg woman’s quick thinking may have helped her avoid becoming the victim of a scam.

Laura Harper told Channel 9 that an inmate from a prison in Georgia called her from behind bars and impersonated a deputy.

"He said, 'Yes ma'am, this is deputy,' and was real mumbled, 'with Cabarrus County Sheriff's Office,'" Harper said. "But I thought this is funky."

Harper, who is a manager for a lumber yard, used to be a police officer and she called the Sheriff's Office right away.

"That information was tracked back to Georgia. We worked with law enforcement authorities down there," Cabarrus County Sheriff's Lt. Van Shaw said.

Shaw said law enforcement officials said they are seeing an increase in this kind of scam. He said deputies will never ask for money over the phone.

"This should not be happening for goodness sake. They are in jail for a reason," Harper said.

Harper worked in Phoenix as an officer. She said she has a sixth sense about scams, but said others could have easily been fooled.

She posted about the scheme on a Harrisburg community web page to let others know to be careful.

Deputies said if someone asks for money or asks you to get a green dot card or a similar card to pay a fine, it's a scam.

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