SCAM ALERT
Hundreds (possibly thousands) of people who are listed on the Texas public sex offender registry have received a call from a very convincing and manipulative scammer.
Below are details from some of the calls and emails we have received from our registered members:
This scammer will identify himself as a law enforcement officer from your local home town police department or sheriff’s office.
He will begin with an alarming statement: ‘because of the new law that went into effect on January 1st, you are out of compliance with registration’ –OR- ‘your registration office has found a violation in your reporting requirements’. Other similar statements have been relayed to Texas Voices as well.
The scammer will then inform the registered person that a warrant will be issued for his/her arrest but that instead, the registrant can pay a fine to avoid arrest. The registrant is then prompted to purchase a specific type of gift card, one that can be exchanged for cash, and to report to the local sheriff’s/police office to pay the fine. The registrant is instructed to call a specific phone number once he arrives at the law enforcement office for further instructions on how to pay this fine. After the registrant has purchased the gift card, driven to the location specified, and calls the number, the scammer will ask for the card number in order to ‘load it into the system’. Once the scammer has the card number, he hangs up the phone and the registrant has lost his/her money.
Most registrants have received the call on their cell phones.
The scammer uses ‘spoofing’; “Spoofing” occurs when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity. Registrants who have received this call have reported that their caller ID showed a number with an area code that was the same as their own cell phone area code number. In some cases, the caller ID showed the call be to coming from a local law enforcement office.
It has been reported that the scammer has also called family members of people who are listed on the public registry.
Registrants reported that when they questioned the scammer, they were physically threatened and some have reported that the scammer made threats toward their family members.
If you or a family members receives one of these calls, we encourage you to call your local law enforcement office, registration office, and/or treatment provider.
Take Care and Be Aware,
Mary Sue Molnar