A PARSOL member recently alerted us about the following scam in the Lehigh Valley region.
We want everyone to remember that the Pennsylvania Megan’s Law registry has no DNA requirement and the “state commissioner” cannot create such requirements. Certain sentences in PA do impose DNA sampling, but they are not because of “the registry.”
If YOU are aware of an actual or suspected scam, please report it at https://parsol.org/report/.
Here is a copy of the message we received:
I received a call from (610) 885-8930 (almost certainly spoofed) at about 1 PM on 1/19/24 from a supposed “Lt. Baldwin” (who doesn’t exist) from the County Court House. They said that they were about to issue a bench warrant for my failure to show up to give a DNA sample. They knew my name and address (easily obtained from the Pennsylvania Megan’s Law Registry), and could have easily looked up my phone number given that information.
According to them, the State Commissioner had issued a requirement that everyone on the Registry had to give a new DNA sample at the County courthouse. I supposedly had signed a certified letter confirming my appointment to give the sample, which I had never received and so failed to show up. I was to get myself to the courthouse that very day or they would issue the warrant for my arrest.
They seemed to be unaware of the enormous snowstorm the area was experiencing but were willing to reschedule my DNA sample collection in a week. They wanted me to call to confirm the appointment before I left.
Upon calling the County Courthouse, they were able to confirm that this was indeed a scam and that they don’t even do DNA collection there. While the normal scammer would ask for money, it is suspected that they were trying to ensure that I would be out of my house at a specific time so that they could rob it (the courthouse is about 2 1/2 hours away, guaranteeing them a 5-hour window and confirmation if I had gone through with it).
I reported the scam to the County Sheriff’s Office who suggested I also report it to the PA Attorney General, which I am also doing.
