Cook County Sheriff Warns Public Of Phone Scam

COOK COUNTY, IL – Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart is warning the public of a phone scam involving a caller claiming to be a member of the Cook County Sheriff's Office. According to a release from the sheriff's office, the caller demands personal information, and in some cases, has also demanded money related to a warrant.

The scam involves a spoofing application being used to make it look like the phone call is coming from the sheriff's office, according to a release. However, the sheriff's office doesn't notify callers about payments over the phone, or ask for payments this way, officials added.

In the release, Sheriff Dart offered the following tips to avoid becoming a victim of phone scams:

• If you believe the call is suspicious, hang up.
• Never give personal information away over the phone, including social security or bank account numbers.
• Legitimate police employees do not ask that payments be made via prepaid debit cards.
• If the caller claims to be from a specific agency, hang up and call that agency to determine if there is a legitimate reason to contact you. Do not use the phone number the caller gives you.

Sheriff Dart asks anyone who believes they are victim of this scam to call their local police department and financial institutions as soon as possible. Sheriff’s police can be reached at 708-865-4896.