CCPD gets report of fake hostage call; warns of scam
The Cape Coral Police Department is warning residents of a new and “particularly reprehensible” phone scam.
A father reported receiving a phone call from international number advising that the caller had the man’s daughter in the woods. The male caller demanded money.
The father told police he heard a female screaming in the background saying, “Daddy help, Daddy help!”
The man contacted his daughter who told him she was fine and not in any danger.
The father then filed a police report with the CCPD, reporting the frightening scam.
“The Cape Coral Police Department wants to remind citizens that scammers will go to any lengths to deprive them of their money,” department officials said in a prepared statement. “Scams such as this try to evoke an emotional response and get you to act before thinking, with the ultimate end being to persuade you to transfer money to the scammer. Once monies are transferred, they are virtually untraceable.”
The CCPD urges anyone who receives such a call to immediately hang up and contact the police.
For more information on how to protect yourself from telephone scams and other fraud, check out the Federal Trade Commission’s website here: FTC.gov
Source: CCPD