TX: scam targeting sex offenders
Scammers are focusing on a new vulnerable population — sex offenders.
Beaumont Police Department spokesperson Carol Riley said the department has seen seven cases of attempted or completed scams on area sex offenders.
“A lot of their information and registration (as a sex offender) is public,” Riley said.
That makes them an easy target for those looking to profit off the fear of re-incarceration or other violations that offenders worry about after serving their time while still on parole or probation.
“The scam is to call the person and tell them they have a bond to pay or that they’re about to be arrested,” Riley said.
The caller ID will often display as coming from Beaumont police, the city of Beaumont or some other official entity.
“They have the technology to spoof caller ID, so it will look like it’s the right (number),” she explained. “They make up different stories about new DNA or an outstanding bond or whatever, then send them to a location to get cash and take it to a place with Western Union or bitcoin” to send payment.
Sex offenders are an especially easily target because, although they know the system of payments for bonds and more, “they’re so nervous and unnerved by the call and about getting into trouble again, that they believe it and do it,” Riley said.
Some have been scammed out of sums ranging from hundreds to over a couple thousand dollars.
Technology has allowed some scammers to go so far as mimicking family members’ voices culled from social media posts to try and prove their veracity.
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That’s funny considering the registry is a scam targeting anyone that downloads the app and “signs up” for alerts.
What a blessing FAC has been!!
I had this happen to me in Palm Beach County in 2020, just before pandemic. Fortunately I stopped loss at $200, but it was almost thousands. Sheriff’s office was dismissive. And I thought I was pretty savvy about the legal dystem.
I didn’t mean to write “dystem”. Please correct it.
I’ve had a few people call over the years. Like most people I don’t answer the phone if I don’t know the number so I’ve never really talked to anyone and I’m not about to call them back.
If anyone wants to watch these kinds of scams being trolled go to YouTube and check out Kitboga’s channel. Really funny stuff. He changes his voice to an old woman frequently and really frustrates them
Is just me or did it occur to anyone else that in order to receive money thru Western Union, you have to give the sender a NAME to send it to AND you have to present ID to get to money. So… how is there no paper trail to who these people are?
Maestro
The mail man either stole my mail or put it in the wrong box. It was a $300 money order with MY name on it. Someone 2 counties away cashed it at a store. Most likely they had a friend who worked there and cashed it for them. (This was while I was on probation)
My point is, there are bad people working in ALL positions. I saw that when I worked in law enforcement. There is an entire group of people in Osceola county that does nothing but make fake drivers licenses, i’ds, license plates, stickers, and passports.
And not only that, but on the money orders, they will use someone at a corner store and pay then a percentage for each money order they cash for them. Imagine if that store owner or employee made more each week from cashing checks for someone and getting a cut than they did in salary.
Depending on the size of the money order, it is not even a felony or not worth law enforcement’s time to pursue. And the final one, anything related to sex offenders, law enforcement (in my opinion) seems to enjoy us getting scammed as part of our “Non” punishment, punishment.
I have even stopped calling the police because most of the time I get a side of the mouth comment like “Well if you hadn’t done what you did maybe you wouldn’t be in this mess”. Well thank you mister obvious. Does that give them a right to not do their job?
I noticed the Beaumont Police spokesperson didn’t say a damn thing about what they are doing to attempt to catch some of these people who are impersonating police officers, a felony in the State of Texas.
Alan
I think their silence is your answer to what they are doing about it.
The least they could do is lie and say “We will look into it”.