Sheriff warns of jail scam: ‘Hang up’ if caller asks for money for inmate’s GPS monitoring

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning Tuesday that scammers are calling families of inmates asking for money so their loved ones can secure a GPS monitor.

“The Illinois Office of Statewide Pretrial Services does not charge money for individuals to be placed on supervision or GPS,” the sheriff’s alert said. “Families with loved ones incarcerated are more likely to be targeted for this scam. Please hang up immediately if this occurs.”

Emily Baker, communications specialist with the sheriff’s office, said the warning was sent out by the Illinois Sheriff’s Association as a “preemptive warning” because other Illinois counties have started seeing the scam.

“We have not seen it yet in McHenry County, but wanted to try and get ahead of anything that may come,” she said. “These scams are ruthless. We see people losing money nearly every day.”