[StBernard] St. Bernard Sheriff's Office warns of new telephone ransom scam

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Sheriff's Office warns of new telephone ransom scam
 By NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
on December 06, 2012 at 8:45 PM, updated December 06, 2012 at 9:00 PM Print

The St. Bernard Sheriff's Office is warning the public of a new telephone
scam that targeted at least two parish residents on Thursday. In both cases,
residents received phone calls from someone saying a loved one was being
held for ransom, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

In the first incident, early Thursday, a man with a foreign accent called a
woman's cell phone and told her a family member had been kidnapped, was
being held at gunpoint and would be killed unless she wired $1,000 to an
account, Pohlmann said.

The woman, who was ordered not to hang up, panicked and asked a neighbor to
drive her to a bank. The bank wasn't open yet, but the woman was prepared to
wait, withdraw the money and send it, Pohlmann said.

The woman's neighbor called the Sheriff's Office. Deputies calmed the woman
down and called the family member who allegedly had been kidnapped. He told
deputies he was safe and at work, Pohlmann said.

In a second incident, around noon on Thursday, a Violet man received a phone
call saying a family member had been in a traffic accident and was being
held for ransom. The man told the caller he was going to call the Sheriff's
Office and hung up. He shortly received a text message saying "it all had
been a joke," Pohlmann said. 

Pohlmann said people should be particularly alert for scam attempts during
the holiday season, when criminals think people are distracted.