A new phone scam seems to be making the rounds in the Fox Valley involving thieves representing themselves as police officers.
According to the Will County Sheriff’s Office, residents have been receiving calls from a “No Caller ID” and/or number 815-740-5552 wherein a man identifies himself as a Deputy or Sergeant from the Will County Sheriff’s Office and informs the victim that they have a warrant out for their arrest due to failing to appear in court for jury duty. In order to clear up the contempt of court warrant the victim is told that they must pay $4,000.
One victim reported that she asked the scammer to provide verification that the call was legitimate. The scammer told her to hang up (from the No Caller ID call) and called her back from the 815-740-5552 phone number, which indicated the Will County Sheriff’s Office Warrant Division caller ID. The victim, still being suspicious, did a Google search of the number which verified that the number belonged to the Will County Sheriff’s Office Warrant Division.
The victim then agreed to pay the money but informed the scammer that she only had $2,500. The fraudulent police officer agreed to the sum and instructed her to go to a Jewel Bitcoin Kiosk and the victim transferred the $2,500 to the scammer.
What is notable about this scam, and others like it, is that the scammers are using names of deputies and sergeants that currently work at the Sheriff’s Office and the caller ID number of the Sheriff’s Warrant Division, 815-740-5552, is in fact the actual number for the Sheriff’s Warrant Division.
According to the Will County Sheriff’s Office, the primary defense against this and other phone scams is to NEVER send money to anyone unless you have initiated the contact or are speaking with a recognizable company or organization that you have had prior business with. Caution should also be taken when receiving a call or email from your bank, special offer deals, computer virus alerts, and claims that a friend or relative is in need of money. Citizens should be aware that no police agency or government agency will call for payments of any kind, including arrest warrants.
