ATLANTA – A metro Atlanta driver’s generosity was allegedly taken advantage of by a group of “water boys.” Atlanta police say they stole his phone and crashed his car.

Woman warns public after losing $400 in Cash App scam after run-in with boy selling water

The driver says that since then, the thieves have made multiple attempts to steal money from accounts linked to his phone, and he’s urging other drivers to take a lesson from his situation.

“I just say don’t roll down your window. Just keep it going,” the driver said. “It’s not even worth it.”

Atlanta water boys accused of stealing phone, money, SUV

What we know:

Atlanta police say it happened around 6 p.m. Wednesday evening. When the driver, who asked to remain anonymous, rolled down his window to make a donation via Cash App, he says one of the suspects grabbed his phone.

“When I opened up my Cash App, they saw my balance had like $12,000 in there,” he said. “Before he even finished telling me the full Cash App name, he grabbed it.”

He tells FOX 5 when he hopped out of the car to get his phone, another teen hopped in and took off in his white Range Rover.

“I ended up paying a guy right behind me in a BMW to kind of chase them down,” the driver stated.

Atlanta police say the joyride ended about four-and-a-half miles away in southwest Atlanta.

Neighbors recalled seeing the group of young men ditch the car after crashing it into a mailbox and pole.

“I was just shocked man, I was like, ‘dang,” he said. “I didn’t expect it from pretty much like kids.”

What is Cash App?

Dig deeper:

Cash App is a mobile payment service, or digital wallet, that allows users to send and receive money quickly and easily using their smartphone.

Users can send money to, or receive money from, friends, family, or anyone with a Cash App account using their phone number, email address, or unique “$Cashtag” username.

Cash App allows users to link their bank account or debit card to transfer funds to and from their Cash App balance. The app can also be used to receive direct deposits, like biweekly paychecks.

Alleged ‘water boys’ theft leads to fraud

Why you should care:

The Buckhead resident, who did not want to be identified, says rolling down his window at the sight of water boys stationed at the 10th St highway exit ramp felt right at the time, but it was a decision that cost him greatly. 

“They tried to go into my bank account, my Navy Federal, my Chase, my Cash App,” he said.

While he says his banks acted quickly in response to him reporting the theft, Cash App did not—and his business account there was compromised. 

“They changed all of my information. They’ve tried to take money out of my account like three or four times, from four grand to six or seven grand,” the driver said.

He tells FOX 5 in the last few days, they’ve successfully withdrawn $1,500. He’s now offering a $1,500 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

Atlanta police search for teen suspects 

What we don’t know:

The names and descriptions of the teens have not been released.

What you can do:

A Cash App spokesperson could not confirm details about this incident but did share tips about how you can avoid your account being compromised:

• Enable the Security Lock setting so that every Cash App payment requires your passcode, Touch ID, or Face ID. 
• Create a passcode for your mobile device. To do so, check your device’s general settings. You may need to check your device manual for more information.
• Every time you sign in to your Cash App account, you’re sent a one-time-use login code. If you received an unsolicited sign-in code via email, we recommend securing the email account associated with your Cash App account by updating your password and enabling two-factor authentication.

Mayor Andre Dickens is responding to community organizers calling for the city to stop sweeps of homeless encampments after a man died last week.

Mayor Dickens released a video on his Instagram page Friday night.

“This terrible tragedy demonstrates the need to reevaluate and reassess our city’s policies concerning homeless encampments and how we can better our unhoused population,” Mayor Dickens said.

The tragedy he is referring to is the death of 49-year-old Cornelius Taylor.

Taylor was killed when a city bulldozer ran over his tent during a sweep of a homeless encampment near Ebenezer Baptist Church on Jan. 16. Some advocates believe the city was trying to clean up the area in advance of MLK festivities planned the next week.

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Mayor Dickens called for city council “to conduct a complete review of encampment closures, rehousing, and how we care for the unsheltered,” and he also called for a moratorium on all homeless encampment sweeps while the city figures out a plan.

Mayor Dickens called encampments “incredibly unsafe” for the people who live in them as well as the communities around them.

However, he said, “Homelessness is not a crime…but make no mistake we must do everything we can to safely and humanely close these encampments and provide housing and stability to our neighbors who have found themselves out in the cold.”

The encampment removed on the 16th is rebuilt now. A memorial now stands for Taylor mere feet away from where he died. Channel 2′s Eryn Rogers spoke with some of the people who have lived in the encampment about Taylor’s death.

“It’s been hard for the community because it reinforces the idea that they don’t care about us,” said Benjamin Graham, who said he knew Taylor for the better part of a decade.

Organizers who work with the people living in the encampment say more could have been done sooner and this tragedy could have been prevented.

“We’re well beyond a day late and a dollar short,” said Nolan English, the founder of Traveling Grace Ministries. “We’ve been telling the mayor to stop sweeps.”

TRENDING STORIES:

Organizers went to City Hall this past Thursday with Taylor’s family. They wanted to deliver a letter to the mayor and meet with him. However, they said they were blocked.

“We were greeted with not one, but a dozen police officers that created a line and said we could not pass, really a bizarre thing to witness in the people’s house,” said organizer Tim Franzen.

Organizers said Taylor’s family now feels disrespected by the mayor and city, and organizers say they want to see action put behind the mayor’s video.

“We ought to be moving people from homelessness to self-sufficiency,” English said. “We’re not doing that because we’re not paying attention to where the true need is.”

In the video, the mayor also reiterated the city’s investment of $60 million to help end homelessness.

Organizers said that money needs to be used correctly.

“Funding wise it’s more than enough, but we have to direct our funds towards the actual cost of getting people off the streets, wrap around services,” English said.

English said the current housing options for unhoused people are only temporary. He said he has crunched the numbers and spoken to property owners.

He said the city could permanently house around 3000 people for the amount they are investing.

Organizers said there are also other factors that need to be funded to truly help people permanently transition out of homelessness.

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“There should be a budget to pay case managers to come into these villages, one on one work with these people, so it doesn’t take a year and a half to get an apartment,” said Elisabeth Omilami with Hosea Helps.

People who live in the encampment say they need to trust the people who are helping them, especially after the tragedy with Taylor.

“There’s a lot going on back here, there’s trauma, there’s mental health, addiction, and the help that comes in, there’s got to be a connection,” Graham said.

English said he would estimate there are around 4500 to 5000 unhoused people living in Atlanta.

Taylor’s funeral will be February 3 at Ebenezer Baptist Church.