Norwalk Police Warn About the Kidnapped-Relative Phone Scam

Norwalk police are warning the public about a phone scam that is becoming more frequent and is costing some people thousands of dollars.

(U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy has asked the FBI to help publicize the problem, which has plagued other communities in Connecticut and beyond.)

"The Norwalk Police Department has received eight complaints regarding this scam in the last ten days," Lt. Paul Resnick, a spokesman for the department, said in an email. "Unfortunately, some of these attempts have been successful."

Here's the announcement just released by the Police Department:

Norwalk Police Department has received several complaints by Norwalk residents of a fraud being conducted in Norwalk.

An unknown caller will call a resident of Norwalk and tell them that a family member had been in an accident and that the family member is being held hostage until the resident wires them money through Stop & Shop or Western Union.
The suspect caller has been predominantly described as a Hispanic male or male with an accent.

Residents are advised that:

• They should never wire money to unknown subjects without first verifying information that they receive.

• They should always check the information separately from the information that was provided by the caller. Try contacting the family member, call others and ask, contact the police and ask.

• They should avoid lengthy conversations with the unknown caller and HANG UP and contact the police.

• They should contact the police to advise them of the phone call before wiring any money to unknown person(s) and request assistance.