Residents of Champaign County, Illinois, are being urged to remain vigilant following reports of a phone scam where individuals impersonate members of the local sheriff’s office. The Champaign County Sheriff’s Office has issued this warning after multiple community members were targeted by these fraudulent calls.

Sheriff Dustin Heuerman has reported that these scammers contact residents under the guise of an “urgent legal matter” that supposedly requires their immediate action. Posing as representatives from the Sheriff’s Office Civil Division, the callers may exert pressure on individuals to return calls or even demand money to settle the non-existent issue.