Upstate NY Woman Rattled Target of Virtual Kidnapping Scam
Scammers come at us in a variety of ways. They sometimes take our identity and try to get us to send them money claiming to be the police or collections, but this latest scam is terrifying. Fortunately, no one was hurt but for an Upstate NY woman, she thought a family member was kidnapped.
There is a new scam that has made its way into the Capital Region. It is called "Virtual Kidnapping". This is where the scammer on the other end of the phone says that they have your loved one and are holding them for ransom. It is more terrifying because they use personal information to convince you they have them.
According to CBS 6, Anna Caban of Niskayuna was woken in the middle of the night by a phone call from her mother-in-law. Well, that's what she thought. The scammers used her cell phone number to make it seem like she was calling. It was three in the morning. Groggy, Anna said that there was a man on the other end claiming that he had kidnapped her mother-in-law and needed money for her safe return.
Anna Caban Recounts How Believable It Was
She told CBS 6,
He started to say her name and started to yell very threatening obscenities and then he said he was going to shoot her. Screams were coming in the background that could have sounded like her.
She also said that she was willing to send any money needed to not hurt her. But then Anna decided to ask the kidnapper to put her mother-in-law on the phone so she could hear her voice and know she was okay. That's when the kidnapper panicked and hung up.
She was worried that her mother-in-law's home was burglarized so she called her father-in-law. When she contacted him, he said that his wife was there sleeping the entire time. Then she asked about her phone and he said it was there too.
Anna Was Relieved But Shaken
She couldn't understand how the scammers could get her mother-in-law's actual cell phone number and spoof it.
She is sharing her story to warn others. It was so believable that anyone could fall for this scam. If you were a victim of a scam or something similar, you are urged to contact your local police and the FBI.
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