A very scary, real sounding scam almost took a 31 year old Roca woman for a lot of money a few days ago.
She got a call claiming that her father had been kidnapped. They really played it up up muffled groans and crying in the background and had even cloned her father’s phone number so it looked legit. They asked for money or they’d kill him. Long story short, everything came out ok.
That is a terrible situation that seemed very real. So I had our team ask LPD what you should do if it happens to you. Here are the tips they gave us.
- Call law enforcement immediately if you believe someone is actually in immediate danger.
- If possible, verify the individual’s safety using a different channel.
- Record/preserve information: Save the caller ID, take screen shots, keep call logs.
- Contact your bank/payment provider immediately if money was sent or requested.
The Roca woman had originally sent money via Pay Pal, but was able to cancel it in time. Also, I know many phones have an option to record phone calls. An icon that looks like a cassette appears on the screen while you are speaking to someone. LPD didn’t mention it, but that may be a way of preserving information and helping catch the jerks. This is the symbol. 