Full Notification

The “kidnapping scam” is the latest scam causing victims extreme distress as a means of coercing them out of their money. Other variations include a caller posing as a lawyer or law enforcement demanding bail money for a jailed loved one, or the “hitman scam”, in which an anonymous assassin claims to have been contracted to kill the victim unless the victim pays them off.Many of these scams originate overseas and make use of “spoofed” (false) phone numbers, making the suspect’s caller ID unreliable.
The Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety will always treat incoming calls seriously, particularly those in which people are threatened with harm. However, given the ubiquitous nature of these scams, it is prudent to be familiar with them and to take certain protective steps to reduce the chance of being victimized.
Please see the link below to an article from the FBI on this subject, with a section on helpful tips (“Don’t Be A Victim”): https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/virtual-kidnapping