A Roswell man nearly handed $21,500 in cash to a stranger in a parking lot on Alpharetta Highway on Monday, July 20, before police intervened and exposed the scheme in real time over the phone.
The man told officers he received a call from a woman claiming to work in Bank of America's fraud department. She told him he needed to withdraw cash to cover charges on his American Express card. He pulled $10,000 from one Bank of America branch and $11,500 from another, according to Roswell police.
When he had the money in hand, the caller told him to call her back. By that point, the man had grown suspicious and contacted police.
Officers arrived on Alpharetta Highway to find the man standing in front of a silver Honda Accord he believed was part of the operation. With police present, the man called the woman back. She instructed him to place the $21,500 in a plastic bag and hand it to someone in the Accord.
One officer detained the driver while another got on the phone with the alleged scammer. When the officer asked why she was directing a man to hand cash to a courier, the woman scolded him for interfering and hung up.
The driver turned out to be an Uber driver responding to a rideshare request. Police said he was unaware of the scam. He provided his account details for the investigation and was released.
Why the victim believed it
The man and his wife told police the caller had provided his correct cellphone number, driver's license number, and Social Security number. Officers told the couple that kind of personal information is available through public records, making it easy for scammers to appear legitimate.
Recent scams in Roswell
The July 20 incident is at least the third phone-based fraud reported to Roswell police in roughly three weeks. In late June, two residents lost a combined $9,000 to callers impersonating police officers who demanded payment through Apple Cash and Zelle. In mid-July, another Roswell-area woman was convinced to withdraw $4,500 and overnight it to Florida.
Nationally, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 5,100 complaints of phone-based impersonation fraud in 2025, with losses topping $262 million. The bureau has warned that some scammers direct victims to hand cash to couriers.
No arrest has been made in the July 20 case. The investigation remains open.
How to protect yourself
The Roswell Police Department has said no officer will ever call to demand money for warrants or fines. The department advises anyone who suspects a scam to hang up and call the non-emergency line at (770) 640-4100.
Residents who have been victimized can file a police report at the same number. Once a report number is issued, the department's Financial Crimes Report Packet can be completed and submitted to a detective.
