Telephone scam hits Lincolnshire

With three teenage drivers in the house, Bruce Pinsler had reason to worry when he received a call saying there had been an accident on I-94.

The caller told Pinsler on Sunday that he was the driver's emergency contact person and he should dial *72, then a phone number with the Chicago area code 773 and ask to speak to officer Smith.

Frantic, Pinsler, 44, of Lincolnshire, hung up and began dialing the number.

Meanwhile, Pinsler's wife called the Lake County sheriff's office, where officials told her they had been the victims of a scam.

"It was pretty scary for a few minutes because I envisioned someone in my family on I-94 in a wreck," Pinsler said. "It sounded very legitimate, and as a father of four teens, three of them drivers, I was even more concerned."

Within five minutes, Lincolnshire Police were at Pinsler's door, having been in the neighborhood responding to a similar report from a neighbor.

"This scam has been going on for a long time," Detective Adam Hyde said. "We just started getting the first reports of it hitting Lincolnshire last week."

Hyde didn't know exactly how many Lincolnshire residents had been victims but said it is fewer than 10.

Lincolnshire is one of a handful of towns in the Northwest suburbs to be hit by the scam.

In March, St. Charles police had several complaints from residents, Gurnee was hit in May and Bartlett police warned residents of the scam in July.

According to AT&T, when the customer dials *72 followed by a telephone number, it activates the call forwarding feature causing all incoming calls to ring at another number.

At the end of the other line, the original caller's partner is able to accept all collect and third-party calls, while telling legitimate callers they have the wrong number. The victim is billed for all calls made because their number is the one from which they are forwarded.

Hyde said victims reported their Caller ID displayed "Prison" when they got the phone calls.

He doesn't yet know the extend of the damages in Lincolnshire, since residents haven't received their telephone bills. The phone company has agreed to work with victims, he added.

Hyde said it is impossible to determine from which prison or jail the calls are being made.

Anyone receiving such calls should not answer the phone and report all calls to police, Hyde said.