Be wary of scam calls, DeKalb County Sheriff warns – Shaw Local

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about two phone scams that appear to be circulating in the community.

Residents are asked not to give out any personal information over the phone.

According to a press release from the sheriff’s office, the first scenario involves an apparent scammer calling claiming to be from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office. The caller often doesn’t give a name or gives the name of a person who doesn’t work for the department, authorities said. In the apparent scam, the caller requests iTunes gift cards to pay off an outstanding warrant.

In the second scenario, an apparent scammer calls from 815-215-7575 pretending to be a federal agent, according to the sheriff’s office. The caller will then claim that the person answering the call missed a federal citation and issued citations.

“The caller is very pushy and belligerent in an attempt to obtain personal information, and he threatens the victim not to drive or he will be arrested,” authorities wrote in a news release.

The Sheriff’s Office also reminds residents that neither their agency nor any other law enforcement agency would call someone and ask them to pay bail using iTunes or other gift cards.

And because cash bail has been banned in Illinois since September under the Pretrial Fairness Act, sometimes known as the SAFE-T Act, no one is required to post money on bail.

If anyone feels they have been the victim of a scam, they are asked to call local law enforcement and file a report. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office can also be reached at the non-emergency number 815-895-2155.