Scammers Calling Lake County Residents Pretending To Be Cops: Sheriff

LAKE COUNTY, IL — If you receive a phone call from someone saying they're with the Lake County Sheriff's Office, there's a chance it isn't actually law enforcement. The LCSO said Thursday it is investigating a new scam where offenders are calling county residents and pretending to be a deputy or sergeant.

According to police, the scammer will identify themselves as law enforcement and tell the caller they have an active warrant for their arrest or outstanding civil process paperwork. In some instances, the scammer will provide the victim with the victim's name and address, which will sometimes the victim that the caller is a police officer. They also will often identity themselves as actual LCSO employees.

Then, police say the scammer will order the victim to buy gift cards and provide the scammer with the gift card numbers/pins in order to satisfy the warrant. Scammers have also asked victims for their social security numbers, banking information, and other sensitive information.

In addition, police say the scammers are "spoofing" their phone numbers to make it appear the call is coming from the LCSO.

"The Lake County Sheriff’s Office reminds the community that government will never call and order you to pay money in the form of gift cards," police said in a news release. "If you receive an unsolicited call from anyone requesting money, you should be suspicious. If a person claims to be a government agency, call that government agency first to determine the validity of the call, before discussing anything."

Police are asking any residents who think they may have been scammed to call their local police departments.