Want to avoid being arrested? Just pay thousands of dollars.

No big deal, expect that it’s a scam that the Lake County Sheriff’s Department is warning residents about.

The department said that someone has cloned its phone numbers and is calling residents claiming to be officers with the department.

They then say that there are arrest warrants out for that person, and if they don’t want to be arrested they need to pay $5,000 in cash.

They’re then told to meet the officers in drug store parking lots.

The department is assuring the public that they will never contact a person and tell them to hand over money for any reason.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff’s department’s Criminal Investigations Division at 219-755-3346.