That ‘notice’ from cops? It could be a con, Jacksonville-area police say

Seemingly fearless con artists are trying to bilk some west-central Illinois residents by claiming to be the very people trying to stop them: law enforcement officers.

Authorities in Jacksonville and Pike County are among those cautioning people to be suspicious about official-looking or -sounding messages.

At least one person in Jacksonville received an email last week saying they had been caught speeding 15 to 20 mph over the limit and instructing them to click on a link to pay the fine online.

“This notice is to inform you that you have been cited with a traffic violation and must pay your citation within 72 hours,” the message claimed.

For added flair, the note even had a real Jacksonville street name where the violation was alleged to have happened.

“The Jacksonville Police Department will never email you a traffic citation,” the department said in a social media post. “Please do not pay these” because they are a scam.

This con game has been around for a few years and some con artists have upped their game by including photos of a person’s license plate to add legitimacy.

“Ticket scams prey on fear. Most drivers are scared to leave tickets unpaid, especially when the scam insists you may be sent to collections, lose your car, or even be arrested,” according to the site DefensiveDriving.org. “Often, the scammers wouldn’t reach out in ways legitimate law enforcement and parking agencies, usually via email or even over the phone.”

Compounding the confusion that citations sometimes can sent through the mail, particularly if a violation is captured by a red light camera. In Illinois, those are in use in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Madison, McHenry, St. Clair and Will counties.

The best rule, law enforcement authorities say, is to pick up the phone and, instead of calling the number on the ticket, look up the city’s police department phone number on an official site.

A relatively new, unrelated scam has been playing on the emotions over an “assault weapons” ban signed into law this month in Illinois. The law prohibits the sale of a lengthy list of semiautomatic weapons, including AR-15-style rifles, and requires existing owners to register the firearms with the state within a year.

The law has been met with a flurry of legal actions and announcements by dozens of county sheriffs that they will not enforce it until a court determines its constitutionality.

According to Pike County Sheriff’s Department, callers claiming to be with the Illinois Sheriff’s Association have pounced on the situation to solicit donations to “fight the assault weapons ban.”

The Illinois Sheriffs’ Association said it does not solicit by phone and urges people not to provide any financial information over the telephone.