MACON, Ga. — When you have a gut feeling about something, you should trust it.
That is what made Patricia Thompson leave after a woman offered her a free smart watch for a mouth swab.
"You can tell something wasn't right, what she was trying to do, you could tell it," Thompson said.
She was driving down Mercer University Drive when a sign caught her eye.
"It said, 'Free smart watches,' and I said, 'Hey, why not? I don't have a smart watch,' and typically, when they ask for something, you either have to have some government assistance and I qualify for that, so I pulled over," Thompson said.
She was not the only one either. She said she had to wait in a line behind six people who stopped.
"When my turn got up, the lady said, 'Well, you know, we have to go to my car to swab your mouth to get the smart watch.' I was like, 'Well, you don't need any of my information or my assistance from the government?' she said, 'No, uh, I wouldn't need that. I would just need for you to swab,'" Thompson said.
Many scammers will ask for personal information.
The state's attorney general office says they typically follow the same pattern, promising to provide genetic testing for free by playing into fears of serious diseases like cancer.
"She told me that watch kept up with your pulse, your blood pressure, and if you had scoliosis," Thompson said.
For Thompson, seeing the woman ask for a mouth swab on the side of the road was enough to turn away.
"Where's your chemicals or your biops or your hazards, or stuff to conduct this? She had no gloves, no table, and everything was did in her trunk and it was kind of suspicious, 'cause I'm like, 'Really? Swab my mouth to get a smart watch?'" Thompson said.
Scammers will often promise the genetic testing is free, but many people find out their medical insurance bills have thousands of dollars worth of charges from third party companies.
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