Retiree Says Inmate Scammed Her With Cellphone

THOMASTON, Ga. - From trying to stop them from being delivered by drone... to trying to block them once they're already behind bars, Georgia Department of Corrections officials admitted to the FOX 5 I-Team for years they're fighting an often-losing battle against the supply and demand of smuggled cell phones.

"It's a very profitable market for them," observed investigations director Ricky Myrick.

Profitable because authorities said inmates can use the phones to pull off other crimes on the outside. Like what happened to 76-year-old Shirley Parrish of Thomaston.

She said she got a call from someone at Dooly State Prison warning her inmate son would soon be in trouble if she didn't send money fast.

"My son means more to me than $840," she stated. "So I knew I had to do something."

So Shirley did exactly what federal prosecutors say the victims did in their massive investigation into cellphone fraud: she wired the money to a prepaid card and gave the account number to the inmate making the threats against her son.

"You were worried about him weren't you?" asked FOX 5 I-Team reporter Randy Travis.

"Yes. Absolutely. I mean, your son is your son no matter what. I'm 76 and of course I was worried about him."

She said she will soon file a complaint with police, following the US Attorney's announcement they're targeting financial crimes committed with smuggled prison phones. It was the second significant federal indictment involving cellphones already this year.

Clearly, state authorities can use all the help they can get.

"I think it should be stopped," insisted Shirley. "Because if people are getting scammed like me, then there's going to be more out there that do the same thing to other people, it could be more money involved."