Increase In Scammers Targeting Lake County Residents: Sheriff

LAKE COUNTY, IL — The Lake County Sheriff's Office informs community members of an emerging computer-based financial scam. The sheriff's office has seen an increase in reports involving people becoming victims of these scams, including scams committed over electronic devices such as cell phones and computers, according to a release from the sheriff's office.

In an effort to keep the public aware of this recent crime trend, the sheriff's office describes some of the reported cases.

The sheriff's office said scammers are reportedly calling citizens and claim to be employed by computer repair companies, and that they “accidentally” deposited money into the citizen’s bank account. In some cases, the scammers will direct the citizen that the only way they can repay the falsely deposited money is to purchase gift cards and give them the gift card numbers over the phone.

In some other cases, the sheriff's office said the scammer reportedly persuades the citizen to download a computer program onto their computer, giving the scammer access to the person's computer data. The sheriff's office said the scammer then tells the person to log into their online bank account and the scammer will transfer funds from one account to another, often labeling the transfer as the name of the fake computer repair company. Then, the scammer reportedly tells the person the transfer was "accidentally" deposited into their account, again adding that the only way to repay the citizen is through business gift cards, and tells them to go to a store in order to purchase and provide information from several gift cards.

The sheriff's office advises community members to be aware that companies and government entities aren't paid with gift cards, and to not allow anyone you do not personally know persuade you to download an unknown computer program to your computer.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind the public to be suspicious of people calling them to obtain money or gift cards.