Watkinsville Police Chief Warns of New Scam

A scammer is looking to rip off Oconee County residents by taking advantage of the City of Watkinsville's plan to implement a faster emergency notification system by working in conjunction with Oconee County government.

At the on Feb. 9, city officials discussed the recent incident and said they planned to inquire into whether they may be able to use a county calling system to send out a telephone alert in the event of an emergency.

Watkinsville said in a news release this week that a con man has "tried to cash-in on the situation."

"A resident of Christian Lake Subdivision advised City police that a white male came to her home on Sunday (Feb. 20) and represented himself as a utility department employee," he wrote.  The man was reportedly wearing a work uniform and florescent safety vest and flashed an official-looking identification.

The man asked the resident for a one-time fee of $20 for a "service upgrade" to a telephone notification system, the news release stated, adding that the resident gave him the money before contacting Oconee County Utility Department to learn that no such upgrade exists.

Any concerned citizens may contact either the Watkinsville Police Department  at 706-769-7891 or the Oconee County Utility Department at 706-769-3960 with questions.