Victim Helps Bust Alleged Internet Scammers

Shared from the Loganville-Grayson, GA Patch

Gwinnett County Police say the woman from Grayson realized she’d been scammed after trying to make a purchase online.

GRAYSON, GA — A Gwinnett County woman who was ripped off in an internet scam helped police bring the alleged scammers to justice.

Three people have been arrested or charged after the woman from Grayson, who realized she had been scammed online, set up a meeting with the scammers to supposedly pay for another transaction with cash, then called police.

Teisha Dunbar, 26, of Decatur, and Nicholas Gates, 29, of Palmetto were arrested Friday and police obtained arrest warrants for Natiya Pope, 40, of Union City. The arrests are in connection with a string of social-media scams in which they falsely advertised Delta airline tickets and Comcast internet boxes, Gwinnett County Police said.

Neither the tickets or internet service was real, police say.

Police say that after the Grayson woman realized she’d been scammed, she contacted the scammers and arranged to meet them in person to make another purchase. She called police and officers met her and the suspects at a hair salon on Centerville Highway near Snellville.

Gates and Dunbar were arrested at the scene. Pope remains at large, police say. They are each charged with two counts of felony theft by deception.

Gwinnett police urge any other victims in the case to call law enforcement and report it. The number of charges the suspects face could rise, they say.

“This case and subsequent arrests would not be possible without the bravery, persistence, and determination of the victim who decided to turn the tables on the perpetrators,” police said in a news release.

Top photo via Pixabay. Suspect photo courtesy Gwinnett County Police Department.

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