Susanville Police Chief Kevin Jones is warning Susanville residents to be warry of a new phone scam after his department received reports that a caller is contacting people and claiming their relatives have been abducted and they will be harmed if money is not sent.
“Over the last 24-hours we have handled two different cases of people receiving a phone call from an international number, telling people a family member of theirs has been abducted, ” explains Chief Jones.
“The caller is threatening that they will hurt the person if they do not receive funds immediately. They are asking the person who receives the call to stay on the phone while the person secures the funds and wires the funds to an account in Mexico.”
According to Jones the caller will try to extract personal information from you. Things like your address, social security, date of birth, account info and other details which makes it much more convenient for a person to steal your identity.
“We have been in contact with the F.B.I. and have confirmed this is not a just a problem in our area, but all over the Country. These abduction calls received in the last 24 hours reported to SPD have been from the County Code of ’52,’ which is Mexico.”
Jones said that although the department cannot confirm every call is false, you should contact law enforcement before you send any funds to anyone who you do not know personally, under any circumstances. Do not provide personal information of any sort, especially account information or your social security number.
“Unfortunately, these types of cases have become a constant in our society. Scammers spend all their day trying to trick, lie or extort money from innocent people. Please be aware of them and help others to be aware as well.”
