Police warn of kidnapping phone scam

The Kalispell Police Department has issued a warning that a telephone scam is active in the valley after receiving reports from victims who got phone calls from unknown people alleging a family member had been kidnapped followed by a ransom demand.

“As happens with many scams recently, the main goal of the caller is to keep the victim on the line and fearful of hanging up the phone to verify the caller’s claims,” Kalispell Police Department Patrol Officer Cory Clarke said in a press release.

Flathead County Sheriff’s Office received at least two different reports regarding the scam from Bigfork and Kalispell on Monday and Tuesday.

In both calls, the caller named a victim’s family member, either a daughter or husband, for example, by his or her first name and then attempted to keep the victim on the phone to pay a “ransom” or go to a specific location to wire money.

Both calls came in from restricted or blocked numbers.

In the most recent reported call, screaming was heard in the background followed by threats that were “violent and aggressive in nature,” Clarke said.

“The threats describe what will happen to the loved one if the victim hangs up. The caller will then direct the victim to a local outlet for Western Union or MoneyGram (even iTunes cards) and demand that funds be delivered to a particular account. When this has been done, the caller will only demand more until the victim hangs up,” Clarke said.

Clarke said the best course of action in any type of suspected scam “is to disengage with the caller and contact law enforcement.”

For more information, call the Kalispell Police Department at 758-7788.