Scam alert: Callers pose as Cook County deputies, demand cash over fake warrants

COOK COUNTY, Ill. - A voicemail claiming to be from law enforcement. A threat of arrest. And a demand for tens of thousands of dollars.

It sounds official—but authorities say it’s all a scam.

The message begins with a man identifying himself as a sergeant with the Cook County Sheriff’s Department, insisting he needs to make immediate contact. But within seconds, the red flags start to appear.

In one voicemail, the caller asks for "Aaron Keaton." In another, the same voice asks for "Erin Keechie."

The target: Erin Keating.

"If this were legitimate law enforcement, they would know how to pronounce the name," Keating said. "He also didn’t pronounce my name correctly in the voicemail."

The caller claimed Keating missed jury duty in Cook County, Illinois—calling it a federal offense and warning of a warrant for her arrest.

"You hear the words ‘warrant for your arrest,’ and your common sense starts to go," she said.

Then came the demand.

Keating says the caller instructed her to travel to a "sister court" in Massachusetts with $75,000, where she would be detained until the issue was resolved—promising the money would be returned.

That’s when she realized something wasn’t right.

Dig deeper:

Officials with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office say there is no scenario where they would call someone demanding money.

"We don’t call people and ask for money. Ever," said Roe Conn, spokesperson for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities say they’re receiving a growing number of calls from residents trying to verify whether these messages are real.

"We are definitely getting calls from people saying, ‘Hey, did you call me?’" Conn said.

Investigators believe scammers are using personal information found online to make their calls more convincing.

"It’s almost scary," Conn said. "If you go, and you actually go look for your own information just by Googling it, it’s shocking what comes up. A lot of this stuff has been stolen."

The scam isn’t limited to one area. The same name used in the voicemails—"Sergeant David Wayne"—has also been reported in Wisconsin, where authorities issued a public warning.

Nationwide, scams like this are costing victims billions.

"It’s about a $16 billion-a-year issue in the United States," Conn said. "Roughly $3 billion in the Chicago metropolitan area alone."

Officials say there are clear warning signs: mispronounced names, urgent threats, and demands for large sums of money—often paired with a strange or robotic-sounding voice.

"What I heard on that particular audio—it’s a scam all day long," Conn said. "It either sounds AI-generated or it’s somebody trying to mask their voice."

Tracking down those responsible can be difficult.

"I think most of these are coming from overseas," Conn said. "There’s almost nothing we can do if it’s an overseas caller or bad actor to penalize them."

For now, authorities say awareness is the best defense.

What you can do:

If you receive a suspicious call, hang up and contact your local law enforcement agency directly to verify it. The Cook County Sheriff's office can be reached directly at 847-635-1188.