A new phone scam targeting people on Delaware’s sex offender registry has drawn the attention of Delaware's Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
Last week, reports of the bizarre phone scam reached Delaware’s Sex Offender Management Board, which includes representatives from law enforcement, behavioral health treatment providers and the Office of Public Defense.
Board Chair Robert Hudson says the callers, posing as law enforcement, told targets they had failed to register as sex offenders and warrants had been issued for their arrest. According to the callers, those warrants could be resolved if their targets paid a fine.
“The only way to take care of this was for them to take $2,000 to a Royal Farms and put it into Crypto to make this payment," he said.
Hudson says it is unclear how the callers obtained the phone numbers of people on Delaware’s sex offender registry, though he notes registered sex offenders – already in a precarious position – are the type of group often targeted by scams.
"They're often scared of going back to jail and they don't know what to do," he said, "and that makes them vulnerable."
The Delaware State Police Sex Offender Apprehension and Registration Unit has begun warning those on the registry about the scam calls.
