ACLU Recommended tips for handling a scam call
Scam calls occur with regular frequency. Having had a number of these calls, it is from personal experience to say they are upsetting.
The ACLU in Michigan published this advice. If you or someone in your family is on the registry, you or they are likely to get a call. Knowing this is helpful.
How to Handle Scam Phone Calls
Posted on August 29, 2023 by nufearless Reposted by ACLU Michigan Nov.11,2023
∙ How do I know it’s a scam call?
∙ What actions should I take when scammers call me?
∙ How can scammers make their calls appear legitimate?
∙ Can I refuse to answer questions during these calls?
∙ Can scammers be reported to law enforcement? Does law enforcement take action?
Scammers know that your registry status offers them an opportunity to take money from you. At some point, you will receive a phone call from a scammer. The call will probably look real, sound real, and is likely to scare you the first time this happens to you.
It is a scam. Law enforcement is NOT calling you.
∙ Law enforcement does not call and warn you when they have a warrant for your arrest.
∙ Law enforcement does not call and ask you for money.
∙ Law enforcement does not need another DNA sample from you.
∙ Law enforcement knows where you live, and they will come get you if they want you.
∙ This caller is not law enforcement.
What should I do when scammers call?
You have some choices: Listen to them until you are sure it is a scam and then hang up. Don’t answer phone calls from unknown numbers. You are welcome to scold the scammers and call them names, but they don’t care; they have plenty of other numbers to call. Someone else will fall for the scam.
As soon as the caller identifies themselves as a law enforcement officer and mentions the registry, think to yourself, “This is probably a scam.”
The scammers are pretty good at sounding legit, so it is natural to be a bit rattled during this phone call. Be patient. Just listen and give noncommittal responses (Oh? Really? No kidding. I didn’t know that.) until you can be sure it is a scam.
If the caller says they have a warrant for your arrest, it is a scam. If they tell you there is a problem with your registry information, it is a scam. If they tell you a little money will clear things up, it is a scam.
Scammers often “spoof” phone numbers to make it look as if the call came from a real number for that agency. If the incoming phone number matches the actual number of a law enforcement agency, that does not mean it is a legitimate call from that agency. It isn’t. They often use the name of an actual officer so that if you Google the name, you might be convinced the call is real. It isn’t.
Be Fearless
If they ask questions of you, remember this: You are not obligated to answer questions from law enforcement, and certainly not questions from scammers. If you want to tell them to call your attorney, that’s fine. They aren’t going to call the lawyer because you are the one they want to be frightened into giving them money.
Their goal is to frighten you, make you afraid that they will expose you as a registrant, make you afraid that you are in trouble, to make you so afraid you will give them money.
They want your money, so they work hard to look and sound legit. They aren’t.
Some people have recorded the calls and reported the scammers to law enforcement. You are welcome to do this, but we have yet to hear about law enforcement actually investigating these scams, however if the person represents them self as being a Law Enforcement officer, please make a complaint also with the Michigan Attorney General’s Office online complaint form.
Respectfully Tim P ACLU of Michigan SOR Specialist
Disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. The information in this email is provided for general informational purposes only. No information contained in this email should be construed as legal advice from me or ACLU of Michigan nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter. No reader of this email should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information included in, or accessible through, this email without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer licensed in the State of Michigan, or other appropriate licensing jurisdiction.
I would agree to meet them in a specific place so there is no mistaking them, but call the police or the sheriff’s department to go in an unmarked vehicle and be there so that you can point them out and they can be caught. You could even turn you phone on record and get the whole thing as evidence. Ask the police/sheriff if they care about catching impersonators. If law enforcement does not agree to go then let the scammer go anyways while you stay home and they go and wait, and wait, and wait, and…….you get the idea.
They will never show up in person. At first they say they need to meet at the Sheriff’s office for a DNA sample or whatever. Their story slowly changes; they will say warrant has been issued and you need to pay with a gift card or moneygram. They say if you go on government property before paying, you will be arrested. I know this because I have received a dozen or more calls over the past few years. There is not much hope of catching them, so I play along for a while before letting loose some choice words. When they hang up I call back repeatedly, with more of the same words. After several calls I find that their number is no longer in service.
I would add not to cuss out or be mean to the scammers. The reason is, revenge can come in many forms for ticking them off. When I got the call and figured it was a scam, I politely said that I would meet him in the Lobby of the Sheriff’s office, call me when you are there and I will come in with my Lawyer.
Also they do not give up easily, as after I hung up, they called my parents and luckily my Dad who is a Veteran, told the guy he would contact me and discuss the situation with his son (Me).
I made a police report and never got another call. Now I do not answer my cell phone and let all calls I do not know go to voicemail. I then listen to the voicemail to see if it is legit and go from there.
I asked specific questions such as “What is the wording of the warrant”, and ” what is the exact charge”. I said I would be glad to write a check and send it directly to the court clerk for whatever amount it was they were asking. I finally said that I’ve been around too many blocks to fall for such a sophomoric, idiotic scam. I heard rumors that one of them was actually a deputy sheriff in a nera by large Texas county. Bottom line: no more calls at all. Not another call in 2 years.