By C1 Staff
ATLANTA, Ga. — Inmates with cell phones are now making fraudulent ‘missed jury duty’ calls to civilians, convincing them to pay hundreds to not be arrested.
NBC News reports that correctional officers confiscated more than 13,500 phones inside prison walls within the last year.
Inmates scam not only random civilians but also the families of other inmates, sending pictures of bloodied inmates to their relatives and threatening more harm unless payment is sent. They urge those they scam to put the money on Green Dot cards, which makes the money easier to move.
Prisoners pay up to $1,000 for a phone, and use all sorts of creative ways to get them into facilities, though experts say most are brought in by corrupt officers.
Prisoner advocates say that Georgia’s ongoing cell phone problem is indicative of a systematic failure by the Department of Corrections to control its prisons.
The DOC has installed body scanners, mobile phone detectors and infrared cameras to vet both correctional officers and visitors for contraband.
Still, this hasn’t made much of a dent in the cell phone problem.