Richardson police are warning residents about a sophisticated phone scheme recently targeting families.
Officer Tommy Davis admits these types of schemes are nothing new, but said the callers are using more specific techniques to get a hold of people’s money.
“They’re very convincing. They're very, very convincing. A lot of time they'll use names or play on their emotions,” Davis said.
Last week, Davis said two people in Richardson were conned out of thousands of dollars.
One grandparent received a call from someone stating to be a family member in jail needing bond money.
“They’ll say 'well it doesn’t sound like you on the phone!' 'Well, I was in a traffic accident and I hit my mouth on the steering wheel,'” Davis described.
Another person got a call from someone claiming to be their son who was kidnapped.
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“Gets a call from his son very frantic. They say 'I’ve been kidnapped.' They want money. And then the kidnapper gets on the phone and he wants them to wire money for the release of his son,” said Davis.
In both instances, Davis said the resident wired money to the fake callers.
He said 99 percent of the time it’s money they will never see again.
“It seems the range is $1,000 to $5,000 typically. But I have seen some in very rare incidents where they are $100,000,” Davis said.
He said the best thing families can do to protect their loved ones is educate them and remind them schemes are out there.
Davis also said many victims are embarrassed to come to police, but they should in order to help catch the criminals.
