HOUSTON -- The state's crackdown on men preying on underage girls on the Internet has netted 37 arrests, officials said Wednesday.

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Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said the cybercrime unit made the arrests -- seven were from the Houston area.

"When they show up to try and act out having sex with the other girl, they're very surprised when they show up and see the person they're meeting is not a teenage girl, but an investigator from the attorney general's office," Abbott said.

In a News2Houston investigation, reporter Stephen Dean went online pretending to be a 13-year-old girl. Men showed up at his door, expecting to have sex with a minor, but finding Dean and his photographer instead.

The cybercrime unit is also having success tracking down fugitives on the run. Sixty-eight arrests have been made so far, in seven states.

The fugitives are convicted child predators who violated their parole and were hiding from authorities.

"As attorney general, I consider my top job to be protecting the children of this state," Abbott said. "We will not allow the future of Texas to be stolen away from our children."