Threatening to hold a family member against their will, even threatening to kill them — these are the scam calls being reported to police in communities across the Greater Cleveland area.
"Your first thought is for your loved one they're calling about thinking, 'did this really happen,'" Chief Fred Bittner with the Mayfield Heights Police Department said.
Bittner said as common as scams are now, he's never heard of anything like this.
"In my 30 years I've never had this happen where it was real, but this is my first time hearing it happen as a scam," Bittner said.
According to police, people who have reported the scam say the caller knew the names of the loved ones they claimed to be threatening. Sometimes the caller claims the family member was involved in a car accident with them, but refuses to provide insurance or pay for their damages. They continue by demanding money in exchange for the loved one's safety.
"We are holding them hostage or we have a gun to them and you need to pay us the money," Bittner said, describing some of the threats these scammers use to get victims to pay. They threaten to keep holding them hostage until they are given payment information.
"If you get the call, immediately hang up and call your local police," Bittner said.
Police believe the people behind these calls aren't in the country and are using information they found online. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult for law enforcement to track them down.
If you get a call you can report it to police and the Federal Trade Commission, which tracks scams across the country.
