Darien Man, 61, Loses $780 After Caller Terrorizes Him with Kidnapping Phone Scam

Phone Scam About a Fake Ransom Targets Darien Woman

Someone Attempts to Pull off Kidnapping Phone Scam on a Darien Parent

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | February 14, 2018

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | January 31, 2018

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | March 3, 2016

A 61-year-old Darien man got some relief when he eventually was able to get in touch with his daughter, but by then he’d already paid out $780 to a caller who victimized him with a phony kidnapping scam. The scam has victimized or nearly victimized other residents in town, and Darien police and others have warned the public about it. Police described what happened with this account:

On Thursday, Feb. 8, a Noroton resident told a police officer that he had just wired $780 to an unknown caller who told him that his daughter was involved in a car accident, that the caller had assaulted her and that if the father didn’t wire money, he’d never see his daughter again. (With minor variations, all of these elements are often in the story phony-kidnapping scammers tell their victims — see the sidebar article below.)

The man wasn’t able to confirm that his daughter wasn’t in any danger, and he feared for her safety.

A Darien woman almost became the victim of a phone scammer who demanded money Wednesday morning after telling her that her husband was being held for ransom, Darien police said. Police described what happened with this account:

The caller told the woman that her husband had been in a car accident, along with the caller’s brother, who is a wanted felon and therefore wouldn’t call police. The caller demanded that the woman stay on the phone while heading to a bank to get money that would be transferred to the caller and his brother. Otherwise, the man threatened, the woman’s husband would be killed. On the way to a bank in town, the woman flagged down two Darien police officers.

« August 2022 »

A Darien parent on Thursday got a call from someone claiming to have captured the parent’s child, and someone could even be heard crying in the background, police said. The caller wanted money wired immediately, as is typical with phone scams.
According to police, the parent was able to confirm that the child was all right even though the purported kidnapper was still on the phone, so no money was lost. Darien police issued this news release describing how these kinds of scams work and how you can thwart them:
Daily phone scam attempts targeting residents of Darien and surrounding towns continue to occur at an alarming rate. This morning a town resident and parent of a Darien High School student unfortunately became the target of a very real scam that we’ve seen and heard about regularly. Although law enforcement agencies around the country feel that these incidents have been originating outside of the U.S. for the past few years, the Darien Police Department investigates each occurrence. This agency has issued numerous advisories in the past, however the warnings in some instances go unnoticed. This morning’s incident involved an unsuspecting and loving parent who was not aware that this type of scam occurs in our area every day. The below scenario explains how the typical attempt can unfold:
Imagine going about your daily routine when suddenly you receive a phone call that shatters your existence.