WARNING: Scams targeting persons required to register continue.

Weekly Update #29

Dear Members and Advocates,

Scams continue to target persons required to register. Last week a member advised that her husband was the victim of a scam here in Florida. Across the country, yesterday the Santa Rosa Police department posted a warning on Twitter that a similar scam is taking place there.

The general theme is someone pretending to be a law enforcement officer and spoofing a police telephone number calls, says there is a problem with your registration and in order to avoid arrest you need to disclose personal information (which will then be used to commit identity theft), purchase stored value cards (ie: gift cards that the scammer will use to purchase goods with) or meet at a specific location (where the victim will be robbed or assaulted).

If you receive a telephone call from someone saying they are with the police department and it’s concerning your registration it is likely a scam! If you feel more comfortable being sure, get their name, hang up immediately and call your actual registration office (Florida Registrants: you can find the number here: https://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/Documents/REREGISTRATIONLOCATIONS.pdf) and confirm.

DO NOT give any personal information. If they tell you that you need to stay on the phone or you will be arrested, HANG UP! If they have a warrant for you, they won’t call first to give you a heads-up. DO NOT give your credit card information or run to the store to buy gift cards. As often as we’ve posted warnings on our site, we invariably still get emails from people who were scammed for thousands of dollars.

Being on the registry, you need to constantly look over your shoulder and worry about becoming the victim of a vigilante assault, but don’t forget how vulnerable you are to becoming the victim of other crimes. Remember that all of your personal information is out there for the public to see. Where you live, what car you drive, what you look like, etc. It is all information freely available on the web to be used by scammers who realize you are an easy target and police will likely do nothing if you’ve been victimized. It’s up to you to protect yourself!

Read comments about this post at https://floridaactioncommittee.org/warning-scams-targeting-persons-required-to-register-continue/

Stay aware and DO NOT allow yourself to become a victim!

Florida Action Committee