UNION CITY (KRON) — Union City police are investigating a kidnapping scam where suspects are calling residents claiming to have held family members hostage.
“We want to make our community members aware of an elaborate scam was attempted twice in Union City within the last three weeks,” police said in a press release.
The suspects are threatening to harm family members if the police are called, and the scammers then ask for money to be sent to the victim via Western Union.
The suspects are also asking for addresses, cellphone numbers, and other person details.
“In one instance, a teenager girl answered the phone and the suspect pretended to be holding her mother hostage as a way to dupe the teenager into giving up the mother’s cellphone number,” police said. “They then immediately called the mother and told her that they had the daughter held hostage.”
Union City police said they stopped the mother from wiring money to the suspects.
If you receive any calls like this, you are asked to call police at (510)-675-5298.