FYI, the Winnebago Cty. Sheriff Doesn’t Want You to Buy Him Gift Cards
We all know scammers are out to get us in any way possible, and it has made most people,(including me), hesitant to answer our front doors or phones to strangers and unknown numbers.
It seems like every day we are warned about a new scam circling the Stateline area, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't offer wonder how people actually fall for most of them. That being said, I do understand that when a scammer sounds and looks "official", and when they prey on your safety, sometimes panic causes common sense to fly out the window.
When it comes to stupid scams and preying on the vulnerable, this one involving the Winnebago County Sheriff's Department might just take the cake...
I don't know what kind of gift cards these scammers are requesting, but I'm pretty sure Sheriff Caruana doesn't want us to fit the bill for his Amazon wish list.
The Rockford Register Star reports there are a few different avenues these scammers are attempting. Deputy Chief Tammie Stanley recently told the RRStar;
One resident stated the caller told her there was a warrant out for her arrest and that she needed to purchase gift cards to take care of the warrant.
Another resident was told to meet "Sergeant Newell" at the Sheriff’s Office with bail money to take care of a warrant. And another resident received a phone call from a person claiming to be a police officer named Tyler and was told she needed to pay a fine or an arrest warrant would be issued.
If you happen to answer one of these shady phone calls, just hang up and then block the number. You can also report it to the Winnebago County Sheriff's Department when you can call them to confirm there is in fact no arrest warrant on your record...just to be safe.