Scammers using local businesses

Published 12:13 am Thursday, August 1, 2013

VIDALIA — Sonny’s Pizza has an imposter.

Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office investigator Phillip Webber said he received a phone call Monday night from a man claiming to work at Sonny’s Pizza.

“I got a call from a local, Vidalia number that said my pizza was running late, and they had misplaced my credit card info,” Webber said. “I said, ‘I didn’t order any pizza.’ I tried to keep him on the phone, but I guess he figured out what I was doing.”

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Webber said he tried to call the number back after the scammer hung up, but it was an invalid number.

The call most likely originated from the Cayman Islands, he said.

“I know most of the people that work at Sonny’s Pizza, so when I realized he had a little bit of an accent I got suspicious,” he said.

Webber said he wanted to alert the community of the scam so no other residents fall victim to the fake pizza delivery calls.

“If you didn’t enter it, you didn’t win it,” he said. “If you didn’t order it, then there is no reason for them to be calling. You don’t get anything for nothing, and nothing is free.”

Webber said the sheriff’s office prosecutes local scams, but reports out-of-country scams to the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office.

To report a scam, contact the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division at 318-336-9148.