Mayfield, KY (December 30, 2019) The Kentucky State Police in Mayfield continue to receive reports of financial scams related to the Kentucky Sex Offender Registry. For the past year, numerous registrants in the region have been scammed out of thousands of dollars by a caller reporting to be with the Kentucky Sex Offender Registry. The unknown caller(s) identify themselves as a police officers with state and local agencies. They claim that the victim has failed to update their registration and require payment to avoid arrest. They often request payment in the form of a pre-paid card such as an Apple I-Tunes card or other form types of electronic payment. They ask the victim to give them the card number and PIN. All victims to this scam are on the Kentucky Sex Offender Registry but are being targeted based upon fear of further criminal penalty. Kentucky State Police urge members of the Kentucky Sex Offender Registry to contact their local Probation and Parole office if their registration status is questioned. The following are tips to avoid being a victim of such scams.
· The Kentucky Sex Offender Registry is operated solely by the Kentucky State Police. Each county’s Probation and Parole office serves as place of registry for all members.
· If a registrant is non-compliant, a notification is sent by mail to the registrant along with state and local law enforcement.
· The Kentucky State Police will not verify sex offender compliance over the phone.
· The Kentucky State Police, along with local law enforcement, NEVER require any form of payment over the phone to satisfy a criminal charge or warrant.
· Scams often come from local phone numbers and sometimes use names of actual law enforcement officers to make the scam more believable.
· Callers often speak with broken English and have poor grammar usage.
· Never provide personal information like a social security number or birthday to someone over the phone. Law enforcement would already have this information when calling.
For more information about the Kentucky State Police, Sex Offender Registry, you may visit http://kspsor.state.ky.us/. Use of this website to harass or intimidate others is a crime.