The Tucson Police Department says it has received several reports of a well-known phone scam.
TPD says a caller is pretending to be a family member in trouble or distress. Another person then takes the phone and says they have kidnapped the family member and a ransom must be paid. Police say the caller ID often shows an out of area phone number, but those can be spoofed to look like it came from a more local area.
The person on the other end of the phone is given information on how to obtain prepaid cards or other means of sending amounts of $5,000 or more.
TPD says if someone happens to get this call, a phone call to the family member can often reassure the victim. Victims can also ask questions that only the real family member would know to the scammers, such as names of other family members or pets.
Phone scams can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission here.
