Boston Police Warn of New Hostage Phone Scam

The Boston Police Department is warning residents across the city to exercise caution as an ongoing phone extortion scam runs rampant. Police say the scam happens when a caller claims to be holding one of the victim’s relatives hostage or says a relative has been in a serious accident and needs money.

According to the department, in a growing amount of cases in Boston, suspects are demanding large sums of money. They then threaten harm to the victim’s relatives if the demand is not agreed upon.

Police say it’s not uncommon for the suspects to know basic details about the victim’s life. Names of family members, places of employment and school information, can be easily found on social media websites.

In some cases, the caller phones several members of the same family, extracting information from one person that is then leveraged against a relative to increase the credibility of the caller’s claims.

Victims are often told that if they hang up or contact the police or anyone else, harm will come to their loved one, police say.

The scam appears to target the Hispanic community and is known to be an issue in several other cities across the United States, police say.

Residents that receive a call similar to the above scheme are advised to:

• Attempt to contact the person that is allegedly being held captive and confirm their wellbeing.
• Ask the caller for specific information about where the family member is located.
• Have the caller physically describe the family member to see if the caller can provide some level of detail that could help confirm or dispel the claim.
• Note the phone number where the call or text originated and report the incident to the Boston Police Department immediately.

Victims are encouraged to report any Phone or Internet Fraud Scams to the Federal Trade Commission by calling 1-866-653-4261.