A Cherokee County couple says a con artist called 911 and brought a SWAT team to their house as payback for not falling for the scam.
The homeowner told Channel 2 Action News scammers pretending to be with the Internal Revenue Service called the Canton home Monday, demanded $2,600. The caller threatened to call the police if he wasn’t paid.
After hanging up the phone, someone reported an active shooter inside the house, saying police needed to respond immediately.
A man told the 911 dispatcher he was the victim’s son and that there was an active shooter in the house.
“Yes right now,” the man said on the recorded 911 call. “That’s why I call. It’s very urgent.”
Cherokee County deputies, with their guns drawn, surrounded the house as the 911 operator tried to get more information.
“I’ve got about five officers outside of your house,” the dispatcher says, “and I need you to step out the door.”
The homeowner, who did not want to be identified on television, said deputies spotted his wife out back and quickly realized it was all a hoax.
“I mean, it could’ve been a totally different scenario, and believe me, it’s frightening,” he told Channel 2.
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Jay Baker said the incident was a dangerous situation for law enforcement and citizens.
“Their adrenaline is flowing pretty hard, and you just don’t know what’s going to happen so it’s very dangerous,” Baker said.
Investigators believe the call may have come from somewhere inside India so they admit that there’s very little, if anything, they can do.
“I just hope there’s some way to put a stop to it before some innocent people get hurt,” the victim said.
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