Scammers Impersonate Hinsdale Police Sergeant

HINSDALE, IL – The Hinsdale Police Department has a Sgt. Daniel Blake, but he's not demanding money so that people can avoid arrest, police said Monday.

Hinsdale police said they are aware of several scam phone calls impersonating Blake. One voicemail message was forwarded to police, with the fake Blake identifying himself as the sergeant from the "Warrants and Citations Division," from a 630 number ending in 1349.

The imposter told the resident about an arrest warrant for failing to show for jury duty.

According to a news release, the department occasionally calls people to alert them of new arrest warrants to arrange for their surrender. However, the latest calls are nothing of the sort.

Police said it is common for scammers to impersonate law enforcement with an urgent request to send money to satisfy an arrest warrant, avoid arrest or handle another pending legal matter.

The scammer may request people to transfer money, buy gift cards or use bitcoin terminals.

Real police have specific case or report numbers for people to independently verify. They will encourage people to call public police phone numbers or come into the police station, according to the news release.

Last week, Hinsdale officers interrupted a similar scam, where the caller claimed the U.S. Marshals Service intercepted a package of drugs, implicating a Hinsdale resident, police said. It was fake.

The resident was asked to withdraw money from the bank and use a bitcoin ATM to "protect" the money, police said.

The resident came into the police station seeking advice while the resident was still on the phone with the scammer.