Scam alert: Kane County sheriff warns of phone call schemes about jury duty, arrest warrants

Kane County residents should be wary of scams circulating recently in which victims reportedly receive phone calls notifying them of a missed jury duty summons or a warrant for their arrest.

Those aren’t real calls, the Kane County Sheriff’s Office announced this week.

The purported scammers claim to be with the sheriff’s office or Kane County Courthouse amid schemes that police said are meant to extort money from victims.

“It has recently come to our attention that two phone scams are being conducted in our county,“ sheriff’s officials wrote on social media. ”We are here to help and don’t want anyone to fall victim to this scam.“

The two scams appear unrelated, according to the sheriff’s office.

In the alleged jury duty scam, callers claim a person has missed jury duty and may threaten jail time unless fines are paid, authorities said. Scammers also may ask for personal information such as Social Security numbers or birth dates.

In the alleged warrant scam, callers impersonate members of the sheriff’s office saying they have a warrant for a person’s arrest. The scammer might even provide the victim with basic personal information such as a name and address, according to the sheriff’s office.

Scammers in these calls appear to use fake badge and court case numbers. In many cases, the scammers may disguise their phone number, making the calls appear to come from a more official line such as the sheriff’s office or a courthouse phone number.

The Kane County Sheriff’s Office provided these tips to help spot an apparent scam and avoid falling victim:

• Sheriff’s deputies will never call anyone and ask for money to avoid jail.
• Scammers often insist that you can only pay with gift cards, a payment app, cryptocurrency, a wire transfer, or even cash mailed in an envelope.
• Court officials will never ask for sensitive personal information over the phone. Social Security numbers should never be disclosed over the phone.

Those who fear they may have received such calls should hang up immediately and contact the Kane County Sheriff’s Office directly at 630-232-6840. No payment or personal information should be provided over the phone.