HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — The cheap signs smashed into lawns and along the corners of busy intersections are hard to miss. “We Buy Junk Cars!” “Cash for Your House!” “Computer Repair.” The eyesores have vexed Hollywood Mayor Peter Bober for the past few years as he wastes valuable resources plucking up the signs only to watch them pop up in greater numbers.
Then Bober came to a realization: The criminals had left their calling cards in the form of business phone numbers.
“These people want us to call them, so let’s call them so much their head spins,” said Bober, who bought a $300 software program in March that makes robocalls to the businesses. The volume of calls has reached as high as 20 calls each to 90 businesses in a day.
“This is a message from the city of Hollywood Police Department,” the message says, going on to say signs were placed illegally and alerting companies they will receive calls until the signs are removed and the owners address the code violation.
The robocalls have been so successful that city officials say they’ve seen a 90 percent reduction of signs in some areas.
