Cook County Sheriff’s Office warns of impersonation scam

As fraud tactics become increasingly sophisticated, scams are evolving into more creative and unexpected forms.

The latest scam to hit Grand Marais comes with a creative twist, one that didn’t take folks too long to figure out in a small town.

A Cook County resident recently received a call from 218-387-3030, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office number. A man with a foreign accent identified himself as “Sheriff Pat Eliasen” and provided a fake badge number.

The scammer told the individual that they had made an illegal online purchase and that a warrant for their arrest had been issued. To settle the warrant, the scammer requested payment.

“That’s not quite the way our criminal justice system works,” the real Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen said.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Office will “never call you up and ask you for money for anything ever,” he said.

The scammer used a ‘spoofing’ app to make a phone number appear from a specific number, such as the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. Eliasen said the use of a ‘spoofing’ app is both easy and a common tactic among scammers. Furthermore, to appear legitimate, the scammer recited the caller’s home address and the last four digits of their credit card.

Sheriff Pat Eliasen told WTIP that the Cook County resident knew it wasn’t him because, “we’ve had conversations in the past and they knew that I did not have an accent like that.”

If someone receives an impersonation scam or any other scam, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office advises against giving any money to the scammer. Unfortunately, Eliasen said it takes a massive amount of technology to try to trace or track down the scammers, as many are from outside of the U.S. “The phone calls are not generally coming from the United States,” he said.

WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with Sheriff Pat Eliasen about the impersonation scam, staffing, LEC addition, and more. The audio is below.

Kalli Hawkins July 17, 2025