Sex Offender DNA Phone Scam

I received a phone call today from someone who claimed to be named "Gregory Jackson" telling me that I missed an appointment for a "secondary DNA sample" on Monday.  He claimed the state had sent me a notice by certified mail.  When I insisted that I'd gotten no such notice, he said that the USPS showed it had been delivered and said something about how they'd need me to come in and sign and do a signature analysis for court.

He went on to tell me that because I had missed an appointment, a warrant had been issued for my arrest and that if I came in to give the DNA sample, they'd have to book me.  Then he put me on hold for awhile and came back with some mumbo jumbo about how I would be able to "self bond" and could pay now so that I wouldn't be locked up.

Of course, I got really scared because it is 100 percent plausible that both the State of Louisiana and the USPS could fuck things up in exactly this way.  So, he told me I had to pay several thousand dollars so that I wouldn't be put into jail.  Then he told me I had to stay on the phone with him the entire time so they'd know where I was, since I had an active warrant.  This is where things started feeling really fishy.  Obviously, he didn't want me to contact anyone and try to vet what was happening.

I went to the bank, and withdrew some money from savings.  When I got back to the car, there was this text about depositing cash into some weird kiosk.  "Sgt Jackson" told me an address and that I was to go deposit the money there.  At that point, I told him I was going to need some kind of documentation before I deposited money in some random electronic kiosk.  He got adversarial and told me "if that's how you feel about it, I can just come pick you up."  I told him I'd already texted my PO about it and he didn't really have any response to that.  So, I put in the address on my GPS and while driving there.  At this point there was radio chatter and the guy starts talking about having units on standby and saying random "codes."  I think he said 1088.  While driving to the address, I called Lt. Moore (the local authority over sex offenders in the parish).  He immediately assured me that the call was a scam and asked me to merge him into the call.  I did, but the guy hung up right away.  I was the 5th or 6th person who'd called him about this came today.

I'm so angry.  I didn't need this extra stress.  Also, sex offenders are already a marginalized group who have to pay lots of random fees.  Trying to prey on us financially is really shitty.  I'm sure the people take some comfort in the fact that they're taking advantage of "bad people," but damn.  It turns out that having a legally vulnerable group of people who are required to post and publish all of their contact information and criminal history online makes us an especially tempting target for scammers.

Both the number above and the number that texted me about the kiosk are answering calls.  Though, as soon as I they figure out I'm on to them, they just hang up.

Apparently one of the guys who got called actually made a payment of some amount.  That sucks a lot, but the good news is that at least a crime has now been committed.  Until money actually changes hands under false pretenses, no crime has actually occurred.  Though, now that I'm thinking about crime and punishment, I'm really not sure what kind of penalty I'd like these guys to face.  I know incarceration isn't reasonable.  Maybe they should have to be on the sex offender registry for awhile.

Update: Putting these comments in a screenshot for posterity.

I'm 90% sure the person who wrote this is one of the scammers because I texted both their numbers a link to this post.  But, there are people out there who really feel this way about sex offenders.  Note how this person automatically assumes the worst about me and says that I deserve to die.

I also enjoy how they're not willing to comment from their actual Google Account and made a throwaway one under the name "Concerned Citizen" because they're actually just a troll who's into the idea of punching down.

I'm Still Here.

Just over two years ago,  I was arrested.  It was on the news.  It was on the Internet.  Googling me now turns up a lot of really unflattering information.

My charges are embarrassing.  I'm not proud of the mistakes I've made, but I've been living with them for the past two years.  I'll be living with the consequences of my mistakes for the rest of my life.

Prison gave me the chance for a lot of reflection.  Looking at my life, I realized how dysfunctional it had become, even ignoring the specifics that led to my incarceration.  I'd always known I was depressed.  I told myself I was managing it well.  But, in reality, I was constantly searching for fulfillment while never finding it.  

Jail was traumatic and isolating.  I'll write more about my experiences within Louisiana's criminal justice system in the future (it's one of the primary things I want to do in this blog).

I lost my career and my marriage.  And I lost touch with all but a handful of very close friends and family members.

It's been over two years since I heard from almost everyone I know.  I have no idea where I stand with them.  Who has written me off forever as a terrible monster?  Who just doesn't know what to say after so long?  Who's waiting for me to be the one to reach out?  I have no idea.  

So, consider this my attempt to reconnect with anyone who'll have me.

I'm currently living at my old house in Shreveport.  I'll be here until the end of July.  After that?  I have no idea.  I'm still figuring it out.  I wake up every day and apply for jobs.  I'm also working through organizing and minimizing my physical property.  All this, of course, while working through the transition back to normal life.  (Yesterday, I almost left the water running in the bathroom sink because all the sinks in jail have push button faucets that turn themselves off after about 30 seconds.)

Mostly, I'm lonely.  I have several friends that have been in touch with me over the past two years.  I text and call them as much as I think they can stand.  But, as far as I know, I only have one friend left in all of Shreveport.  If I extend that to all of Louisiana, that takes the total to two.  When it comes to family, I'm lucky that my immediate family are all still in my life (Mom, Dad, Sister, and Grandmother), but I haven't heard from anyone else.

I understand that people are probably angry with me, disappointed in me, and uncomfortable with what I did.  I've gone through all of those same feelings.  Some of them still persist.  But, this is my life now.  I can't avoid reality.  I'm willing to tell my story, and I plan to do it in a later entry here.  I'm sorry for what I did.  I never intended to hurt anyone.  Despite the stigma that come with my crimes, I do not believe that I am a danger to anyone.  I'm trying to figure out how to get others to believe the same thing.  

While I can't claim that this experience has not changed me in some ways, I'm still fundamentally the same person as before.  I still love people easily.  I still want to help people.  I still want to work towards making the world a better place.

***

What if I'd died on June 1st, 2021?  Would anyone have missed me?  Would people have wished we could have talked more or spent more time together?  Would there have been things they regretted not asking or telling me?  

I want to believe that I'd have been missed.  But, after 2 years of  incarceration, I'm not so sure anymore.  I went away, but now I'm back.  I'm still here.  I don't feel like I've been missed.

I'm doing everything I can to make the best of my new living situation.  I'd really like to have more connections to the people from my past, but that decision is ultimately up to them.  If you're willing to be connected to me again, please reach out.  If not, I understand.  

***

I'm not sure what someone in my shoes is supposed to do.  Maybe I'm supposed to content myself with life on the fringes of society.  But, right now, I haven't given up all hope that my life may still look something like it did before all of this.

Edit: Feel free to share this with anyone who may be interested.  I'm getting lots of emails and texts bouncing back, so I may not have up-to-date contact information for people.