ODESSA, Texas — The Odessa Police Department is warning the public about an increase in kidnapping ransom scams.
This warning comes after OPD says it responded to two different banks on Tuesday in reference to a potential robbery. Both calls however turned out to be multiple people falling for this scam.
These scams involve citizens receiving a call from someone saying a family member is being held captive and they must pay a ransom for their release.
Scammers will tell the person to stay on the line until the ransom is paid and may even make it appear that the call is coming from the kidnapped person's phone, but won't let you speak to the person or hear their voice.
Anyone who receives a call like this is instructed to not provide any personal information or send any money. Instead, you should hang up and call the person who was supposedly kidnapped.
You should also immediately report the call to OPD and include the phone number and any names involved.
To help prevent yourself or your loved ones from being taken advantage of, police suggest you make your social media accounts private and check any information that might be visible to the public.