Everyone needs to be aware that there is a new phone alleged kidnapping scam that appears to be targeting Central Florida and particularly the Orlando and Winter Park area. Please advise all of your friends and neighbors about this and ask them to be extra vigilant. NO ONE IS ACTUALLY BEING KIDNAPPED, however the scam leads the recipient of the call to believe their loved ones are in immediate danger.
The details of recent calls are:
a. Number calling: 407-280-4523
b. Money instructions: Wire through Western Union
c. Wire to: Maria E. Rodriguez Colon in Pennsylvania
The caller targets numbers that have been obtained from stolen phones or ordinary internet databases. They make contact through a local number that shows up on your phone (not a blocked or private call) and utilize engineered questions to solicit some very basic personal data. Generally, they say they are calling from a hospital or emergency room and that they have a patient that is seriously hurt but was able to give them the number to call or they found it in personal effects. They then solicit identifying information and then flip the conversation to say that the person is not really hurt but has hurt one of their relatives (your son/daughter/wife ran over my kid…) and they are holding the victim hostage until you pay money for their release. They are very aggressive, saying they have already beaten up the hostage for what they have done and will kill them if money is not immediately wired via Western Union or other fairly untraceable means to pay for “medical expenses”. They emphasize doing it quickly or bad things will start to escalate. Additionally, if you try to call the hostage, they claim they have the hostage’s phone and if it rings, they will kill the hostage.
Several very smart, savvy people have been the victim of this and have gotten so far as actually on the verge of wiring the money before they figure out it is a scam. I have talked to local police and the FBI and they say that this activity is clearly escalating here over the last few weeks, and it is a nationwide problem, but there is little they have to go on at this point to actually track down the perpetrators; the calling numbers are basically hijacked (“spoofed” they call it) and untraceable and that is largely the only point of contact.
What can you do?
1. Be aware of where your family is or should be, even your extended family. While not always easy, do your best.
2. Give your family members a code word that is not put in their phones or social media and that only your family knows. If you get this call, ask for the code word. If they say they can’t or won’t give it, you know it’s a scam.
3. Make a police report if you are contacted. While it may not immediately result in an arrest, each report may give law enforcement a dot to connect.
4. If you or a family member lose a phone or one is stolen, take immediate action to wipe or erase the phone so if it gets in the wrong hands, it won’t be used against you.
5. Look up the number that is calling you on a separate device. Many of the numbers associated with these scams immediately come up on Google, etc. as associated with these scams.
Very bad people doing very bad things. We must always be vigilant.
The details of recent calls are:
a. Number calling: 407-280-4523
b. Money instructions: Wire through Western Union
c. Wire to: Maria E. Rodriguez Colon in Pennsylvania
The caller targets numbers that have been obtained from stolen phones or ordinary internet databases. They make contact through a local number that shows up on your phone (not a blocked or private call) and utilize engineered questions to solicit some very basic personal data. Generally, they say they are calling from a hospital or emergency room and that they have a patient that is seriously hurt but was able to give them the number to call or they found it in personal effects. They then solicit identifying information and then flip the conversation to say that the person is not really hurt but has hurt one of their relatives (your son/daughter/wife ran over my kid…) and they are holding the victim hostage until you pay money for their release. They are very aggressive, saying they have already beaten up the hostage for what they have done and will kill them if money is not immediately wired via Western Union or other fairly untraceable means to pay for “medical expenses”. They emphasize doing it quickly or bad things will start to escalate. Additionally, if you try to call the hostage, they claim they have the hostage’s phone and if it rings, they will kill the hostage.
Several very smart, savvy people have been the victim of this and have gotten so far as actually on the verge of wiring the money before they figure out it is a scam. I have talked to local police and the FBI and they say that this activity is clearly escalating here over the last few weeks, and it is a nationwide problem, but there is little they have to go on at this point to actually track down the perpetrators; the calling numbers are basically hijacked (“spoofed” they call it) and untraceable and that is largely the only point of contact.
What can you do?
1. Be aware of where your family is or should be, even your extended family. While not always easy, do your best.
2. Give your family members a code word that is not put in their phones or social media and that only your family knows. If you get this call, ask for the code word. If they say they can’t or won’t give it, you know it’s a scam.
3. Make a police report if you are contacted. While it may not immediately result in an arrest, each report may give law enforcement a dot to connect.
4. If you or a family member lose a phone or one is stolen, take immediate action to wipe or erase the phone so if it gets in the wrong hands, it won’t be used against you.
5. Look up the number that is calling you on a separate device. Many of the numbers associated with these scams immediately come up on Google, etc. as associated with these scams.
Very bad people doing very bad things. We must always be vigilant.
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