Phone scammers posing as Cook County Sheriff's Office employees are calling North Shore households and demanding payment for fake citations and warrants, the agency warned in an Aug. 15 news release.
The callers identify themselves as sheriff's office staff, then pressure residents into paying bogus fines over the phone. The calls come from a number without caller ID, making them harder to trace or screen.
A similar phone fraud appears to have already reached New Trier Township. A Winnetka and Glencoe crime blotter covering incidents from July 6–15 documented a costly scam involving fake Cook County claims, according to Patch. The sheriff's countywide warning followed weeks later.
Sheriff Tom Dart's office was blunt: it does not call residents to seek payments or to notify them about citations, warrants or missing jury duty.
Any such call is fraudulent.
The office also warned residents not to follow a caller's instructions or use any phone number the caller provides to "verify" their identity.
How to protect yourself
If you receive a call from someone claiming to represent law enforcement:
- Get the caller's full name, badge number and phone number.
- Hang up.
- Look up the agency's official number on its website, not the number the caller gave you.
- Call the agency directly to ask whether there is a legitimate reason for contact.
The Cook County Sheriff's Office northern district station serves unincorporated areas near Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe and Northfield. Its officers also assist local police departments across New Trier Township.
If you've been targeted
Anyone with information about the scam, or who believes they lost money to it, can call the Cook County Sheriff's Police at 708-865-4896 or 847-635-1188.
The sheriff's office has not disclosed how many residents have been victimized or how much money has been lost countywide.
