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