Los Angeles residents, especially those in the Latino community, have been urged to be even more wary of “virtual” temptation scams that attempt to force criminals to make money by claiming that they are taking their loved ones prisoners.
The Los Angeles Police Department warned on Friday that fraudsters, Spanish speakers, phone calls or text messages will become victims via a private messaging app, saying it is holding family hostages.
There were no real invitations, but criminals demand money in exchange for “safe release,” LAPD said.
“(The con artist) claims that their loved ones are taken prisoner and they offer a variety of reasons, including the lost drugs, the cartel being paid for because of traffic collisions they caused,” police warned.
The offender also requests that the ransom be sent or delivered to a specific location, LAPD says, as payments are being processed, and payments are being processed, while urging victims to continue calling.
Sometimes, the con artist said it would reach out to multiple families, including parents and children, to make it easier to believe lies.
Police also recommend that you be aware of calls and text messages coming from unknown numbers, including prefix numbers derived from Mexico (+52) and other local area codes.
When people turn to social media to help them find their missing loved ones, they need to be particularly careful about trusting information from other social media users.
“The suspects take this as an opportunity to contact users and try to force them to do so,” LAPD warned.
More details are available at 213-486-6840 in the Robbery and Murder Division of LAPD.
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