Police in McHenry County are warning residents about recent scams involving people being asked for payment in the form of cryptocurrency.
The Huntley Police Department said earlier this week that residents should be aware of scams involving cryptocurrency.
“As a reminder, government agencies will never ask for payment in bitcoin [or] any other cryptocurrency,” the department said.
Police said scammers typically ask for payment in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency.
Residents should be cautious of messages or calls requesting payment or offering prizes.
“Also, never give out personal bank account information by email, phone, or by allowing remote access,” the department added.
McHenry County officials this summer have issued several warnings about scams targeting local residents.
The 22nd Judicial Circuit said in late June that a number of McHenry County residents had notified the McHenry County Jury Commission that they received a call from an unknown person indicating they had missed jury service.
The caller identification showed that the call originated from the Jury Commission.
The circuit court said the tactic, known as “spoofing,” exploits a known vulnerability in the telephone network to apply a false outgoing telephone number to the caller identification.
The McHenry County Treasurer’s Office said in early July that they and the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office had learned of a tax scam letter being sent out to real estate owners who owe real estate taxes.
The scam letter appears to come from McHenry County but at the bottom in fine print says it is from a company called “Tax Registry LLC.”
The letter informed a resident that they had unpaid taxes and a lien had been filed causing the balance to be categorized as “seriously delinquent.”
The letter said the balance may be eligible for settlement but that the subject of the letter should “immediately” call their office and place the case in compliant status to “avoid potential collection activities.”
“Do not be fooled by this mailing, and do not contact this company regarding paying your real estate taxes,” county officials said.