On June 06, 2016 Burlington Police investigated a report of a phone scam involving a 23 year old victim from Milton, VT. The female was contacted by an unknown suspect and told that her husband had been taken hostage and would be killed if she did not comply. The female was told that if she made any attempt to contact her husband or anyone else they would kill him. The female was told to send money via western union and once it was verified that the money had been sent, the husband would be released. It was ultimately determined that the husband was fine and the entire incident was a scam.
Further investigation revealed that there have been multiple reports from Williston, Bennington, and Burlington with similar circumstances. This scam is very concerning as the suspects are extremely convincing and have caused a significant amount of emotional and financial stress on the victims they have targeted.
The Burlington Police would like to remind people that these scams exist and to be extremely careful anytime someone asks for money to be sent via Western Union or any other money order service. If you suspect you are being targeted in a fraudulent scam please call your local police department immediately for assistance.
To view the original press release, please see our press release page on our website: www.burlingtonvt.gov/police/press
