The Wake Forest Police Department is urging area residents to guard against becoming the victim of fraud following a number of recently reported phone scams. (One was described in detail on FaceBook Tuesday.)
In these incidents, potential victims receive phone calls from scammers alleging they have kidnapped a relative, or a family member has been assaulted or injured. The scammers then demand the victim send a ransom or payment immediately via wire transfer or pre-paid gift card. They sometimes threaten violence or even death to the alleged kidnapping victim unless the ransom is paid.
The scammers fabricate such tales hoping the potential victims will pay the demanded money without verifying whether the story is real.
The callers who commit this kind of fraud often share the following characteristics:
- Instruct the victim to stay on the phone while they verify the payment transfer has occurred and not to contact anyone;
- Use generic terms when referring to the alleged kidnapping victim, such as brother, sister or child;
- Sound believable by utilizing the internet, primarily social media sites, to obtain and cite information about where potential victims live and work, along with the names of family members and associates;
- Utilize cell phones with the numbers blocked or in conjunction with software that allows the scammers to show fraudulent phone numbers on Caller ID.
Police encourage citizens to consider the following:
- Limit access to your social media pages and limit the personal information you share;
- Never post your Social Security number or account numbers online, and only share your contact information with your friends and contacts;
- If you receive a call you believe may be a scam, never wire money or pay by prepaid card. Instead, hang up the phone and call the person about whom the threats have been made to ensure they are safe. If you are unable to reach him or her, contact the police immediately.
Citizens are also encouraged to report such attempts to the Federal Trade Commission via the linkwww.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#crnt&panel1-1.
If you believe that you are a victim of this type of crime, report it to the Wake Forest Police Department at 919-554-6150.
