Authorities in suburban Lake County are warning area residents about a telephone scam in which callers pretend to be county officials.
The Lake County Sheriff’s office has received reports of fraudulent phone calls that appear on the recipient’s caller ID as phone numbers used by the sheriff’s office, authorities said in a release.
Offenders are using tools to “spoof” their number and attempt to pass the call off as legitimately originating from law enforcement, according to the release.
During the scam, the caller states they are an “officer of the court” and need to serve the victim with a collection notice to collect money.
The Lake County Sheriff’s office never calls to solicit money for any reason, officials said. Anyone who may have received a call like this should contact the sheriff’s office to determine its validity.
In order to protect yourself, officials warned against giving any identifying or personal information over the phone, and if you’re unclear on a caller’s identity, ask for their name and a callback number, then hang up and independently verify their information.
