A Canton man wishes he hadn't been so desperate for help when his tire blew last week.
Stranded alongside I-75 last Tuesday, Chad Wisner let a man posing as a HERO operator dupe him out of his money and the wheel of his high-end sports car.
"When you’re broke down like that, you’re a little bit vulnerable, and you just want to get off the side of the road," Wisner told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday.
State Department of Transportation officials are urging motorists to beware of the scam artist.
David Spear, spokesman for the DOT, said that earlier this month, a motorist whose vehicle had a flat tire on I-75 near Moore’s Mill Road was scammed by a man claiming to be a DOT Highway Emergency Response Operator, or HERO.
“The driver said an individual clad in a gray safety vest and driving what he recalled being a white Dodge pickup truck stopped and identified himself as a DOT employee,” Spear said.
The scam artist's arrival was perfectly timed ... maybe too perfect.
"I was trying to find the number when he pulled up," Wisner said.
The man took the wheel rim from Wisner's Audi TT Quatro, $100 and left, promising to get a new tire mounted on the rim.
"After I waited about an hour, I called the number he gave me," Wisner said. "It was disconnected."
Spear said real HEROs “drive easily identifiable [DOT] trucks, wear department uniforms and have DOT identification.”
Not the pickup with flashing amber lights from inside.
The blow-out happened around 8 p.m., and it was nearly 1 a.m. before someone was able to really rescue Wisner.
"I was pretty irritated," he said. "But I should've known better."
HEROs do not charge for assistance and will not solicit or accept tips for rendering aid, according to Spear, who also warned of a second recent scam targeting job seekers with the promise of DOT jobs.
He said a man is reportedly identifying himself as a job recruiter and approaching individuals at job fairs throughout the metro area.
“He apparently offers employment with the Georgia DOT as a ‘freight inspector’ or mobile truck ‘weigh station’ operator in exchange for $75 application and $12 background check fees, which he instructs the individuals to wire to what prove to be fraudulent entities,” Spear said.
“As a general rule, the department does not utilize employment recruiters,” he said. “Nor does it ever charge job applicants any fee whatsoever.”
Wisner said this misfortune came at a particularly bad time.
He was between jobs and having to replace the $500 rim and nearly $200 tire just as the bills were due for his $30,000 sport coupe.
Wisner couldn't afford the tow and additional expenses, so he let the bank reclaim the car.
"Yeah, he got me," he said.
And the moral of the story?
"Unless you call the HEROs, don't mess with them," Wisner said.
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