The main duty of a police officer is “to protect and serve.”
But how often does that actually happen?
With all the coverage of police brutality and their seemingly endless desire to issue speeding tickets, it can be hard to believe that protecting and serving is on the top of their list.
Until John Garrison was caught on camera that is…
When John Garrison, a deputy for Highlands County, Florida, pulled over a woman for speeding, he had no idea he’d end up saving her from a scammer.
It started out as a routine traffic stop.
Deputy Garrison arrived at the driver-side window, asked the driver for her license and registration, and, after realizing the driver was on the phone, asked who she was talking to.
“I have Amazon on my phone,” the woman told the Deputy. “They’re waiting for me to give it to them now.”
The scammer had instructed the woman to drive to Walgreens in order to retrieve a blocking code that she would find on an eBay gift card. But in order to get that card and the code, she would need to load $200 onto it.
Deputy Garrison goes above and beyond.
Once Garrison hears the woman’s story, he knows right away that it’s a scam–he’s worked hundreds of reports on this before.
Which comes as no surprise.
According to Marketplace Pulse, there are known to be 50-100 new fraudulent sellers becoming active on Amazon each day.
And don’t be fooled by those positive product reviews–5 stars isn’t a guarantee that you’re not getting scammed. According to The Washinton Post, many of the reviews in certain Amazon product categories are either fraudulent or have been paid for.
So what does Garrison decide to do?
He gets into the passenger side of the woman’s vehicle and asks if he can speak to the scammer on her phone.
Posing as the woman’s son, Deputy Garrison asks the scammer to tell him what he would like his “mother” to do.
He listens as the scammer gives him the same instructions as he gave to the woman. But this time, the scammer makes sure to mention:
“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.”
Side note: If a person who claims to be working for a legitimate company asks you for money but tells you not to mention it to anyone… it’s probably a scam.
Garrison has heard enough.
After allowing the scammer to say his piece, Deputy Garrison decides to confront him.
“Ok, so don’t mention–don’t mention it’s for a scam?”
The scammer is silent for a moment, not sure how to respond.
Garrison explains who he is and the scammer immediately becomes nervous and defensive.
“[All] I can say is that you are the scammer,” the scammer fires back at the deputy.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much that Garrison could do to punish the scammer, but the story does have a happy ending.
Rather than issuing the woman with a speeding ticket, which he had every right to do, he decides to let her off with a warning.
So not only did he save her $200 from the scammer but he also saved her another $200 from the speeding ticket.
“You won $400 today!” Deputy Garrison tells the woman with a laugh.
So yes, some cops may be out there causing trouble, but it’s nice to know that some are still aiming to protect and serve.
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