Police in Addison and Naperville warned residents about phishing messages that impersonate legitimate CAPTCHA challenges. Victims may be redirected to malicious links designed to steal credentials or compromise devices.

Police in Addison and Naperville issued a warning to residents after reports of scam messages that mimic CAPTCHA prompts used to verify whether someone is human online. Instead of serving as a legitimate security check, the fake CAPTCHA flow is designed to push targets toward phishing destinations. Once victims interact with the spoofed prompt, they may be routed to pages intended to capture sensitive information such as login credentials or other personal data. In some cases, the messages may also facilitate malware delivery or other device compromise, depending on the malicious destination used by the scam operators. The alert emphasizes that CAPTCHA notices should never be trusted when they appear in suspicious texts or emails, particularly if the message is unsolicited or not tied to a known service the recipient was actively trying to access. Residents are urged to be cautious with unexpected verification prompts and to treat links from unknown sources as high risk. Local authorities highlighted that these impersonation tactics are intended to look routine and “official,” increasing the likelihood that victims click and enter information.