West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has issued a warning so parents will know that those “child predator alert” emails are a scam.
Emails claiming to be a “community safety” alert have been circulating throughout the state and nation. The alert appears to be a personalized warning about a child predator that has relocated into the consumer’s neighborhood, but the warning is really a scam.
“Parents want to protect their children, and these scammers count on that to capture your personal information,” says Attorney General Morrisey. “They have designed the email to catch you off guard and feed off of fear so that you will click on embedded links and enter information without taking time to carefully consider who the email came from, what it contains, and why the sender is reaching out to you. We encourage people to be aware, stay calm, and think before taking quick action.”