I-Team: How to Stop A Prison Phone Scam 

by Randy Travis
Aired March 10, 2016
CAMILLA, Ga. - One of the most successful phone scams these days operated out of a small, south Georgia town where the crooks get their food and shelter for free and have nothing but time on their hands.
If you received a call from someone threatening you with arrest if you don't pay up for missing jury duty or IRS tax deadlines, chances are you were talking to an inmate at Jimmy Autry State Prison near Camilla.
Prison authorities admitted they tried everything: raiding the medium security prison on a regular basis, transferring the ringleaders to other facilities, arresting civilians who help with the scam on the outside.
So this time they tried hitting Autry in the dead of night, and the FOX 5 I-Team watched the raid unfold.
Nearly 200 Georgia Department of Corrections tactical squad members fanned out through all 19 housing units at Autry, assigned to search by hand all 1676 inmates.
Inside the first housing unit the FOX 5 I-Team visited, we found the very reason investigators have come here: a pile of torn scraps of paper left on the common room floor.
"So this is the script they use to scam people?" asked FOX 5 I-Team reporter Randy Travis.
"Yes," replied Georgia Department of Corrections Special Investigations chief Ricky Myrick, holding up a piece of the script. "And when they saw us coming in they tried to shred it on us. But you can see they talk about having a warrant issued today."
A warrant for your arrest unless you pay up now because you either missed jury duty or owe back taxes. Investigators said inmates at Autry have been making those fake calls for years.