Police Community Scam Alert 03-20-26

The Lakewood Police Department was contacted yesterday about a suspicious text message received by a resident.

The message claimed to be from the Circuit Court of Cook County and stated that payment was due for an unpaid parking or toll violation.

While the notice may appear legitimate and even references real Illinois Vehicle Codes, this is a scam. Residents should delete the message and block the sender if they receive it.

Please keep the following in mind:

• The Circuit Court will never send notices or violations by text message.
• Cook County does not issue toll violations. Toll enforcement is handled by the Illinois Tollway.
• Legitimate agencies will not request payment through a QR code.

Do not attempt to scan or open any QR codes included in these messages.

This scam has been confirmed with the Cook County Circuit Clerk's Office.

If you receive a suspicious message or believe you may have been targeted, contact the Lakewood Police Department for assistance.

Also, this afternoon another resident received a text message from a subject named Sam stating he is with a window company called Village of Lakewood Windows showing a 424 area code. We have confirmed this phone number has sent various messages where they change the name of the company to whatever town they are currently working in or targeting. Please be aware of unsolicited messages.