Lake Co. Sheriff's Office Warns of Telephone Scam

LAKE COUNTY, IL - The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has recently received reports of area residents receiving fraudulent telephone calls from individuals representing themselves to be Lake County officials.

These fraudulent calls are appearing on the recipient's caller ID as telephone numbers used by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. In these instances the offenders are using tools to “spoof” their telephone number. Even though the offenders are not calling from the sheriff’s office, they mask their telephone number to make it appears as if the call is originating from the sheriff’s office, according to the news release.

The scammer states they are an ‘officer of the court’ and that they need to serve the unsuspecting caller with a collection notice to collect money, according to authorities. Residents should be aware the Lake County Sheriff’s Office never calls to solicit money for any reason.

If you feel you’ve received a fraudulent telephone call, contact the sheriff’s office to determine the validity of the call.

The sheriff's office also provided the following safety tips:

• Don’t give identifying or personal information to anyone over the telephone, unless you have confirmed who you are speaking with
• If you are unsure of a caller’s identity, ask for their name and callback number, then hang-up and verify their information via the Internet or telephone book
• If a caller is asking for someone who isn’t currently home, simply tell the caller they can’t come to the telephone (versus informing the caller you could be home alone)

For more information on scams please visit: http://www.lakecountyil.gov/Sheriff/.

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