From the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department:
Sheriff’s Office Warns of Telephone Scams
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office is warning against a new twist to telephone scams that is now being used against the citizens of McHenry County, in which scammers misrepresent themselves as either government officials or persons associated with the Sheriff’s Office.
They will then request money be paid using pre-paid gift cards, debit cards, or wire transfers.
Residents have reported receiving telephone calls from either an unknown number or one that appears to be from a legitimate government agency.
The scammer states that he is a government employee or deputy sheriff and threatens the resident with arrest if they don’t provide funds via prepaid gift cards.
Targeted residents include those who have ongoing cases in the McHenry County court system or who have had cases in the past.
The Sheriff’s Office strongly urges all residents to never provide money or personal information via telephone.
Cards specifically mentioned include Green Dot, Wal-Mart, Google Play, and I-Tunes gift cards and the scammers offer to provide card information via telephone. Government and law enforcement agencies will never call people and threaten arrest if money is not forthcoming.
These scams are being perpetrated by very sophisticated, organized criminal organizations and are nearly impossible to track.
If you do receive such a call, we suggest you hang up and notify your local Police Department immediately.
Anyone that could dupe me into reloading their I-Tunes card, I salute you.
To cut way down on con job telephone calls, only answer calls when your caller id shows BOTH the name and the phone number of someone or some business/entity that you know. Any other call, let it go to the recorder and if it is legitimate and important, then that caller will leave a legitimate message. Will still get garbage callers putting their nonsense on your recorder which can be easily deleted.
The Hutzpah of some of these garbage callers is amazing such as when a very authoritative strong female voice leaves a message on the recorder and pretends to be from the IRS and says that bad things will happen to you unless you call her back.
Telephone companies need to eliminate the various features they have made available that allows persons to alter their name and number that then gets forwarded to the called party caller id.
What about the Bob Miller & Family shakedown of every taxpayer in Agonquin Township?
Where’s the SA and Sheriff on that?
AWOL!!!!