Guilford Police Warn Residents About Phony Ransom Phone Scams

GUILFORD, CT - Guilford Police are warning about a new kidnapping scam designed to scare people into believing relatives are being held for ransom money.

Police said this on Facebook about the scam:

“The Virtual Kidnapping Scammers and the Grandparent Scammers are striking the Guilford area again.

“Yesterday, a Guilford resident reported the kidnapping scam. He advised that he received a call at 5:30am from someone who said he had his sister. The resident said he called his sister by her real name and the caller ID listed his sister’s name and number on caller ID.

“The resident stated he could hear a female crying in the background and a male voice yelling at him that he needed to pay them money if he wanted to see his sister again. Fortunately for this resident, his sister was home and, while it only took him 2 minutes to determine she was sleeping in her room, it was 2 minutes of torture.

“The resident advised that the scammer sounded extremely believable and if his sister had not been home, he would have followed his instructions to protect his sister. He advised the scammer knew personal information which lead him to believe the threat was real... however the majority of that info is readily available on the internet... names, relatives, phone numbers, addresses, photos, etc.

“Today, residents received a call from someone posing as their grandson in need of financial help. The phone line was scratchy and it was difficult to hear.

“The caller usually says something like “grandma I need your help.” At that point, the caller tells that grandparent that they have been arrested in a foreign country or in a place out of state and they need money. They beg the grandparent not to tell the callers parents and beg them to wire money to help them. Luckily in this case, the resident called us and did not send the money.
These scams have victimized thousands of people across the country and they are on the rise again in our area.

“Please get the word out to people you know and remember to try and limit all public information on social media and internet sites.”