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Prisoner Runs A Large-Scale Phone Scam From Behind Bars

Some criminals don't stop scamming after they get arrested.

HOOVER, Ala. — When you think of phone scammers, you probably imagine someone in another part of the world in a call center. But this time the "call center" they were in, was a jail cell!

A scammer identified as 'Inmate Lawson' was behind a large-scale fraud operation. Investigators say he got a hold of a contraband cell phone and reached out to a business. He got information on customers from employees. 

When investigators realized what had happened, they found he was in possession of over 350 names and credit card numbers. 

And apparently this isn't unheard of.  Experts say prisoners have made scam calls in the past. They tend to follow a script to steal money. 

But here's the major red flag. They usually ask for payment in gift cards. Whenever any business or organization will only take payment in gift cards, it's a scam. Period.

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