Brazen, heartless, conniving. Pick an adjective and it would describe scammers pretending to be a law enforcement officer or bail bondsman preying on the fears of an unsuspecting victim.

Fraudsters have been calling people saying their relative is in jail, and to give them money to get them out of lockup, according to Lake County Sheriff’s public information officer Stephanie Earley.

All of the calls have come from out of state or outside the county.

At least two local people have been victimized, she says.

In one case, the victim sent $400 through a cash app. In another case, the would-be victim balked and received written threatening messages.

In one instance, the caller asked for gift cards, another sure sign of fraud.

The criminals scan the sheriff’s websites for names, then use

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