GALENA, Ill. — November 7, 2026 — The Jo Daviess County Sheriff’s Office is alerting residents to a phone scam making the rounds in the county, after the Jo Daviess County Circuit Clerk’s office received multiple reports of fraudulent calls.

The callers claim to be from the county sheriff’s office. They tell the person on the line that they missed jury duty and now have an active arrest warrant — and then they ask for bond payment, usually by credit card or gift card.

It is a scam. The Sheriff’s Office and the Circuit Clerk will not call residents to ask for payment or to disclose warrant information over the phone, according to the announcement. Residents are urged not to give out any personal information to callers making these claims.

The warning comes as similar jury-duty scams have surfaced in counties across the country. The scheme works by creating urgency and fear: the caller names a missed court obligation, invents a warrant, and pressures the victim to pay immediately to avoid arrest. Real courts and sheriff’s offices do not collect bond or fines by phone, and they do not demand payment by gift card.

Anyone who receives one of these calls should hang up and not send money or share personal or financial information. Residents who are unsure whether they have a genuine court obligation can contact the Jo Daviess County Circuit Clerk’s office or the Sheriff’s Office directly — the Sheriff’s Office can be reached at (815) 777-2141 — rather than calling back a number given by the caller.

The Sheriff’s Office has not said how many residents have been targeted or whether anyone in the county has lost money to the scam. The announcement did not name any suspects. This article will be updated if the Sheriff’s Office releases additional details.

Sources

• Galena Gazette, “Jo Daviess County Sheriff’s Office alerts residents of jury duty scam,” November 3, 2026 (article last updated November 3, 2026) — https://www.galenagazette.com/townnews/crime/jo-daviess-county-sheriff-s-office-alerts-residents-of-jury-duty-scam/article_52456aac-ba0f-551e-bef7-f945de98aa33.html