In April 2024 I picked up a call from an unknown number at the grocery store where I work. The first few moments were enough to send shocks of terror through my body. “Jeff Noland? This is Officer Walker with Davidson County Police Department. We have a warrant out on you.”
My mind raced. What did I do? I can’t go back to prison. I can’t ever go back to prison. I won’t make it out alive this time.
The person on the other end of the call said he needed my personal cell phone number. When I hesitated, he rattled off my home address, my parole officer’s name and my ID number from the decade I spent in Tennessee Department of Correction custody. My coworkers were watching. Shaking, I told him my number and said a silent prayer that I would not go back to prison.
We had this happen 3 times now!
Put my mother-in-law in the hospital with chest pains.
Reported it to the police and was told to block the number we don’t get involved with that.
LEOs do not call to tell a person they have a warrant. and if you’re on registry they already have your info that is being asked for. To get suckered by this scam is baffling. Don’t ask for any info because it will all be false. Just hang up. Or have some fun and give them all kinds of BS info.
That is why I never answer the phone unless it is a number I know, and I won’t call the number back without them leaving a voicemail.
Yes, same here, a “Detective Garcia” who sounded the part so perfectly he could have won an oscar. Luckily I only heard the message that was left and I didn’t pick up! Left me shaking, short of breath, chest pounding. Sheer, out of the blue terror.
“a pressing issue with your registration form…”
Yeah, the registry isn’t punishment. It’s not government-sponsored doxing. No, not at all….
I got two calls from the same number. The second time the guy lost his cool and started threatening with f-bombs. Called the LE office he supposedly worked for, they never heard of him, the don’t make these kinds of calls. I filed a complaint, never heard back from LE. I don’t think this was a money scam, but rather a vigilante. Never answer a call from a number I don’t know and I never call back a number or person I don’t know.
I got one of these calls last week out of Virginia, which I thought was odd considering I haven’t been to Virginia lately unless I’m sleep driving again. Funny thing is they left a 50 second voicemail of silence. Must be sleeping scammers or butt dialed me by accident.
I briefly investigated this when I got mine the first time. Seemed off. I quickly realized police would not call me in advance if there was a problem with my registration, they’d be knocking on the door loudly.
Unfortunately many of these operations are using VOIP numbers paid for with stolen credit cards and accessed over VPN or Tor. Pretty much impossible to trace.
Like many folks have suggested. Start letting calls go to voicemail. Get an app with Caller ID. I usually get one or two calls like this a year now. Sucks, but we have to protect ourselves as best we can until our info is no longer public.