“You’re not in compliance” – STOP these scams
You might think it’s repetitive for us to keep posting warnings about these scams, but we’re going to keep posting them until they are stopped or until law enforcement does something to stop them… or better yet, until the FDLE takes our information offline so we stop being victimized.
The number of calls and emails we get each week “letting us know about a scam we should be aware of” is unbelievable. As much as we’d like to think we’re reaching the entire registrant community, we only have 2,000 members and there are 74,000 potential victims on Florida’s list and a million potential victims nationwide who are being targeted. If we’re still hearing from people who don’t know about it or only found us after they were victimized, we’re not distributing these warnings broadly enough.
FDLE should require registration offices in each and every county to hang a poster prominently in their office to warn registrants of this scam. We have asked them to. They won’t. They don’t care if we get scammed so we have to do a better job of protecting our own.
Below is a member submission describing the scam call he received.
“Hello”
“This is Officer Thomas Livingston from the Broward Sheriff’s Office. My badge number is 4246. I am in the Records and Communication Office and I am charge of Offenders Out-of-Compliance. I’m looking for Mr. *******.”
“This is he.”
“Is there any reason you haven’t submitted your second DNA sample as required? Did your officer who does your annual address check or a notice from the US Post Office inform you that you were non-compliant in submitting your sample? The court has posted you as non-compliant and my job is to try to make this go away for you. I will need you to come down to the Sheriff’s Office to sign that you did not receive a notice and that you will comply. Now, please go to your car and I will give you further directions. Do not hang up or I will mark you as non-compliant and two deputies will be out to arrest you.”
“OK – struggling to get to the car. OK, there now.”
“You will need to pay a restitution fee of – let me check the computer. Yes, here it is. It is currently $1,072. But if we verify that you did not receive notice, a cashier’s check will be sent to you with a total refund within 4 to 7 days. We have a new payment system and I will need you to stop by one of our affiliates in your area. Are you familiar with Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, in your area?”
Yes, that is what happened to my wife and me recently! I am 86 and my wife is 88; I try to fully comply with every requirement so this knocked us for a loop. When we got this call, it sounded so legitimate that we both immediately became intensely nervous and concerned. To avoid a criminal offense and keep it civil, I was anxious to do whatever was needed. But I hoped it wasn’t a scam. Actually, come to think of it, I did hope it was a scam!
I share this to help others stay aware of the scams out there and not fall victim like we almost did. If you are wondering what we did next, read on . . .
At one point, I said I had to go get some papers for him and he said he would call back. I then called his number that showed on my phone – a lady answered and knew nothing about the Sheriff’s department and had not made any calls to my number. When the “officer” called back, I told him that as Communications Officer, he should be able to get that straightened out. He said he was calling from a cell (my first warning!) and that was his number.
As we went out to the car, my wife called our daughter (next door) to come over and she spoke to the “Officer.” She got the same details and gave me the phone back. While I delayed him, she called the Broward Sherriff’s office and Human Resources verified there was no such officer or badge number! She was then transferred to Internal Affairs who said I should go to the Weston BSO and report it.
We went to the Sherriff’s Office and tried to report it. They said they get so many scam reports that all they can do is warn you not to give out personal information nor pay any money – esp. Walgreens gift cards! However, since my daughter had called Internal Affairs and the scammer had impersonated a police officer, they were interested and will be calling both of us back to get all the details.
We breathed a sigh of relief and the tight feeling in our chests toned down a bit. Although my wife is having anxiety attacks about it and we may need to consult a therapist. So, watch out – out there!
Discover more from Florida Action Committee
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I can appreciate LE is overwhelmed with the number of scams being perpetrated and tell people they don’t have the manpower to track down the Nigerian Prince you sent your money to and in come cases, may not even have the authority to investigate it. That being said, I would think the once exception would be someone impersonating a Law Enforcement Officer, regardless of who the target it. That I don’t understand.
Received same phone call this morning from Det Thomas Livingston from BSO. Telephone number 9542316041. Says I am not in compliance because I missed my second DNA sample appointment last week. 1st off I’ve never been requested to submit a DNA sample in the 1st place. I also said we’ll if there was an issue with my registration status it would’ve been brought up yesterday when I went in and re-register. I hung up
I had the same call two days after I registered with my Sheriff’s Dep. From an ” officer Hights” Told him if what he was saying was true the Sheriff’s office would’ve said something to me. Realizing it was a scam I started a phone fight with that Real Dredge of society then hung up. He never called me again. I then called the Is federal consumers alert and they took down the incident for thier files.
Compliance? Now it seems things are a bit more out of balance or does the Bible come into any of these encounters. Seems to me you should not bow down to any person, so who has the more guilt or who reproves another after its all said and done. Should one be compliant to scams or some under-cover vice of a different color. I was never in compliance when I refused to sign that paper that said I knew I was talking to a teenanger. And please dont’ talk about God as they don’t want to hear that as they serve their own God.
From the mild sting operations to the sublime to the more odious ordeals its man against man in this pre-planned ruse. Even when one ask for more pictures that is a dead give away in and of itself. So who’s the peace officer when the officer is doing these brass or cocky adultrated ordeals on another. Sure we all can think and yes one can slip but when an officer of the law instills these ordeals on another than justice is as corruption is as blind as the justice it serves. Even prevention is good but who runs a yellow light and gets a ticket in the mail the next day.
Sure one can understand an overparked parking ticket or an expired registration sticker or a neighbor having loud music at three in the morning or the drunk driver but who understands the enticement of a peace officer that is even abusing his authority or who is bowing down to who in these disrespectful masquarde ordeal.
I only received a call about submitting my DNA that was legit. First time I went into my new state of residence to register the gal told me she’d call me to come in and get swabbed . I recognized the number and her voice. Other than that I don’t answer. Cops don’t call you to tell you have a warrant, they come and get you without a heads up.
Imagine the PR nightmare we called them about their warrant and they up and left.
When I was victimized this way the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Officer I spoke to (I went to the office) said there was no point in filing a report.
Insist on filing a report. If they police get tired of filling out reports they might just do something about this.
Disgusted
I do not know about where you are, but here in Florida, we have a law enforcement agency called the FDLE or Florida Department of Law Enforcement. We do not have a state police but a highway patrol so the FDLE are our state police sort of.
Anyway, they maintain the registry and also maintain the data bases for criminal history. The good thing about it is, they have a website where you can look up someone to see if they have a warrant. I used it once to find out I had one and instead of them arresting me, I did a walk through and bonded myself out before any Law enforcement could find me. ( I was being harassed by the prosecutor because she didn’t like that I bonded out).
Anyway, my point being, occasionally I will see a patrol car on my street just sitting near my house. It always makes me wonder so I go and look myself up to see if I have a warrant. Last time I found out later the 3 cops were there because they were trying to catch a guy who was banned from the house after beating up his wife. Kind of dumb because he obviously was not going to go to the house with 3 squad cars on the street. At least not marked ones.
And no, I am not trying to beat the system if I were to be arrested. Just instead of sitting in jail waiting for someone to bond you out, if you know in advance, you can go to a bondsman(if you have the money) and do a walk through, then the warrant is canceled). Well until they add more charges that were held just to piss me off and I got arrested again and run out of money.
Nope, didn’t commit another crime, it is just a dirty trick they do to keep you in jail.