The Evanston Police Department would like to alert the community to a deceptive practice (scam) that has been recently brought to our attention. On Aug. 31, an Evanston Police Officer took a report of a subject calling an Evanston resident and falsely claiming to be Detective Jason Kohl.
The caller then told the resident that there is a warrant for their arrest and proceeds to request $5,000. The caller then tells the victim the call will be transferred to Lieutenant Daniel Russell for payment. The resident contacted did not provide any personal information to the caller.
The EPD wants resident to be aware that these types of calls appeared to be legitimate because the caller spoofed the caller ID to display 847-866-5000, the non-emergency number of the Evanston Police Department. Spoofing is the process of changing the caller ID to any number other than the number that the call actually originated from.
The Evanston Police Department has received similar spoofing complaints dating back to April of 2019. If a resident receives such a suspicious call where the caller ID shows the call coming from the Evanston Police Department, the resident should ask for the name of the individual calling, hang up, and call the Police Department at 847-866-5000 to confirm the call.
Anyone with any information regarding the perpetrator(s) of this fraudulent activity is encouraged to call the Evanston Police Department or use the Text-A-Tip program where anonymous tips can be submitted. Tips should be sent to CRIMES (274367) and type EPDTIP in the message line along with the information.