Troy Police arrested Derrick Lamar Pettaway Thursday (2/28) for first degree theft by deception in connection with the fraudulent purchase of tires from a local tire business in Troy according to information released by Chief Anthony Everage.

Pettawy is an 18 year-old black male from Montgomery, Alabama. He allegedly signed a credit card receipt using a false name for the purchase of over $7,000.00 of tires from the business in Troy.

The TPD investigation revealed the business owner became suspicious of the incident and called Troy Police to report the circumstances after he read about a tire scam that was similar to this transaction that had occurred in other areas in Alabama. He received an e-mail from Alabama Tire Dealers Association (ATDA).

In the last few months the ATDA reported that several dealers throughout Alabama have been hit by credit card fraud. The Association sent a warning about another incident similar in nature that had occurred in Alabama.

The scammers will call and say they need truck tires. They will give a credit card number, expiration date and security code over the phone. When the credit card is approved, they come and pickup the tires, sometimes in a rental moving truck. A few days later the dealer will find out t he credit was stolen or fraudulently used in this transaction. The best defense against this fraud is to contact police immediately and report the incident.

Pettawy was transferred to the Pike County Jail and his bond was set at $10,000.00 in this case.

Chief Everage said this is the result of the business owner recognizing the suspicious circumstances and reporting it to police which led Pettaway's arrest in this case.