Herbert Montgomery thought he was calling a law enforcement official Monday afternoon to clear up a misunderstanding.
It didn't take him long to realize that he was in the middle of a scam.
After getting a message from his wife to call a "Lt. Wilkerson" with the Pulaski County sheriff's office to talk about a missed court date over an outstanding traffic ticket, Montgomery called the number, but didn't get the response he expected.
"Normally someone answers the phone and says, 'This is captain or sergeant so-and-so... he was like, 'Hello?'" Montgomery said. "I spooked him. I guess I caught him off guard. ... I knew he wasn't who he was until I had to remind him who he was."
Montgomery never received a notice for a court date, nor was he even in the state when the alleged traffic offense occurred. He said the conversation didn't last much longer before he hung up on the "Lieutenant."
According to actual Pulaski County sheriff's officials, Montgomery wasn't the only man contacted by a man posing as a sheriff's office official asking for money over the phone. He wasn't even the only Montgomery called Monday, presumably by the same scammer.
Earlier that morning, Katie Montgomery, no relation to Herbert Montgomery, took a call from a man claiming to work for the Pulaski County District Court and notifying her that she owed $485 for a missed court date and traffic ticket taken by a red light camera.
In all, the sheriff's office took four complaints Monday, including from two people with the last name Smith, all with a similar description.
Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Carl Minden said that the method of operation is pretty basic: The caller instructs people to put money on an untraceable, prepaid debit card to pay an alleged outstanding fine for a ticket and missed court date, usually from a traffic camera.
Minden said those two statements should immediately signal something is not aboveboard.
"[Traffic cameras citing speeders] is illegal. It's not authorized in the state of Arkansas. That ought to be red flag No. 1: You can't write tickets off cameras," Minden said. "No. 2: We don't ask for credit card information like that."
For the sheriff's office, Minden said, it's nothing new. While he said he can only recall one case in which a victim paid the money, the scam has popped up four times since August. Minden said detectives have continued to investigate who is behind it, but such a case presents substantial obstacles.
Even with a phone number for the suspect, who was tracked to the Jessieville area though not to a specific address, Minden said there is a lot more needed to find the individual, or individuals, posing as lawmen. A call Tuesday afternoon to the phone number listed on the four complaints was answered by a recording that the phone was no longer in service.
"Obviously [that number] is better than having no [phone] number at all, but a lot of times, these phones can be disposable and that limits our abilities," Minden said. "The problem ... it's all taking place over the phone. You don't have a suspect description, the phone number is somewhat disposable ... Even if there was a financial transaction, it's done electronically, in a way that's not as traceable as a credit card. A [prepaid debit] card is like a [disposable] phone. It's not easy to track."
Minden said it's unclear whether the suspect behind Monday's calls was the same person responsible for attempts to scam central Arkansans in recent months.
"Is it the same guy all around? It could be," Minden said. "Then again, we're consistently warning about [such scams]. You don't know if you have a copycat going or not."
Minden said that if an arrest is made, the suspect could face charges ranging from criminal impersonation of a law enforcement official, theft by deception, or even federal charges if a transaction was made over state phone lines.
"If you're violating interstate commerce ... you could be in more trouble with [federal authorities] than just the state charges," he said.
Metro on 03/19/2014