Will County residents warned of phone scams from phony cops demanding money

The Will County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents to be aware of scammers who pose as police officers and try to dupe people out of money by claiming they have arrest warrants and need to make payments over the phone.

In a news release on Thursday, the sheriff’s office said that their office does not call people who have active arrest warrants and do not ask for payments of any kind over the phone.

If people receive a call from someone who claims to be an officer, claims they have warrants for their arrest and asks for payments over the phone, they should cal the sheriff’s non-emergency number at 815-727-8575 or make a police report at willcosheriff.org.

All warrants are also publicly listed at willcountywarrants.com.

One example of such a scam was detailed in the news release.

A woman who did not have arrest warrant received a call from a man identifying himself as Sgt. McKay with Will County’s civil process division, according to the sheriff’s office.

“The woman advised ‘Sgt. McKay’ informed her that she had missed a court date on [Dec. 12] for a sexual assault case and that if she did not pay 50% of the two citations she received for missing court, she will be arrested on a warrant within the next half hour,” sheriff officials said.

While on the phone, the woman said she could hear radio in the background that sounded like police dispatch.

The woman said Sgt. McKay told her payments could only be made over the phone and if she attempted to reach out to a third party or go to the sheriff’s office, a warrant would issue for her arrest, according to the sheriff’s office.