Palos Park Police Warn Residents Of Jury Duty Scam

PALOS PARK, IL — Palos Park police are warning residents of an ongoing scam where a caller pretending to be a Cook County Sheriff’s employee call and threaten people with arrest because they missed jury duty.

Around 3 p.m. Thursday, a resident received a text that a bench warrant had been issued for her arrest after she allegedly skipped jury duty. The scam caller/texter told her she needed to secure a cash bond to quash the warrant.

She became concerned about the text because she received a legitimate notice from the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court for jury duty.

“She started to worry about the warrants,” said Chief Joe Miller, of the Palos Park Police Department. “She started thinking that’s crazy, issuing an arrest warrant for missing jury duty.”

The resident became suspicious and went to the Palos Park police station. The chief said she did not give any personal information or money to the scammer. The texts reportedly came from an 847 area code.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Office said the jury duty text scam has been circulating the county. The texter/caller will try to extort money ranging from $2,000 to $7,000 to quash the warrant.

To make the scam seem legitimate, the caller may use the actual names and respective titles of Sheriff’s Office employees. The caller may also use legal or police jargon during the call to sound like a law enforcement official and further intimidate victims.

Do not send money or provide personal information to the caller. The sheriff’s office does not request payments in this manner, nor does the Office accept payment via money transfer apps or gift cards.

If you think you’ve been a victim of the jury duty scam, call the Cook County Sheriff’s Office at Sheriff’s Police Investigation Section at 708-865-4896 or the Sheriff’s Police non-emergency number at 847-635-1188. You can also report scams and suspicious communications to the Federal Trade Commission.