Phone Scam Demanding Residents Pay Traffic Tickets Hits Cherokee

A man impersonating a Cherokee Sheriff's Office deputy is calling residents and demanding they pay outstanding traffic tickets over the phone.

That's the scam Cherokee Sheriff's Office deputies are asking residents to be aware of as they go about their daily lives. 

According to a press release from the sheriff's office, two residents on Tuesday informed the agency they received a phone call from a man.

The man told the residents he was a deputy with the sheriff's office and was collecting payments for outstanding traffic tickets dating back to 2011. 

The man allegedly also told residents a judge had "authorized payment by phone to assist with the backlog of citations and were even allowing them to pay a discounted price if paid immediately," Spokesman Lt. Jay Baker said in the release. 

If other residents receive a similar phone call, Baker went on to say residents should never provide the suspect with any financial information "nor should they consider making a payment."

A similar scam was reported in Forsyth County last month, when a man claiming to be a lieutenant with the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office called and demanded residents submit payments over the phone for traffic citations. 

Baker added payments for traffic citations are made in person at the Cherokee County Justice Center in Canton, not over the phone. 

Any resident who receives a similar phone call should 911 to report the incident.