Just in time for St. Valentine’s Day, Palos Park Police Commissioner Dan Polk has some warnings about romance scams.
At the 17-minute Village Council meeting on Feb. 9, Polk took a few minutes to urge people to be aware of e-mails and messages from those allegedly looking for love.
“They are romance scams, also known as ‘sweetheart scams’ and it’s criminals pretending to be interested in a relationship,” Polk said. “Some things to know – they generally profess their love quite quickly.
“Avoid in-person meetings. Some claim to be working overseas or are in the military and ask for money, gift cards and crypto cards. They will try to pressure you into a relationship.”
Polk added that anyone who thinks they are being scammed should contact the Palos Park police.
Cops on the Frontline
The Palos Park Police Department is now equipped with software from Frontline Public Safety Solutions, which Polk thinks is a good thing for residents.
“It gives community members the ability to request vacation watches, house checks and overnight parking simply by completing an online request,” Polk said. “By the end of June, it will also offer our community members and business community to provide further emergency contact information for our police department online.”
Polk said the benefit of all of this is that the information will be readily available to police when people dial 911 with an emergency.
He added that it would be a benefit for those with autism to provide that information to Frontline so that police officers can interact properly.
“That’s an excellent portal to drop that information in,” Polk said.
More information on Frontline can be found on the Palos Park Police Department’s Facebook page.
Local chili winner
The Palos Park Chili Cookoff usually has some of the best chefs in the Midwest competing and this year, a local cook won an award.
Jay Vincent won the People’s Choice award and joined Wisconsin’s Tracy Hoffman (overall winner) and Dolton’s Debra Hunt (Showmanship Award) in the winner’s circle.
Commissioner Rebecca Petan said there were 22 entries.
“I want to thank the cooks for coming,” she said. “They arrived the night before to get here early to cook on the premises and to get set up.”