Scammers Targeting Registered Sex Offenders

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By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - State Police say scammers are using the Megan's Law website to target registered sex offenders.

Police put out a warning Friday about an increase in a telephone scam that tries to defraud people mandated to comply with the state's sex offender registry.

The scammer, pretending to be an enforcement officer, calls and claims the offender isn't in compliance with registration requirements. Sometimes police say the scammer claims to have an arrest warrant. The scammer then asks for a cash card or arranges a money transfer, saying that can fix the problem.

Police say they'll never solicit convicted sex offenders for any money to gain compliance with registration requirements. Anyone who gets a call like that is asked to verify the caller's identity, take notes and then call their local law enforcement agency.