Frightening kidnapping scam calls

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - The Georgia Attorney General wants you to be aware of a phone scam that seems all too real.

A man calls claiming he has abducted one of your relatives. And the call comes from a number you recognize because it is a cloned cell belonging to that relative.

A Tyrone executive shared what happened to him when he answered a call and heard a female in the background crying.

Could his sister be in trouble?

Then the bogus kidnapper gets on the phone and calls out the name of the executive.

That scammer makes everything sound urgent, demanding cash with a warning that if he cannot get compliance, he will kill the relative.

John Belizaire, the executive did his best to remain call and started asking questions. He told the scammer to put his relative on the phone. When the caller failed to produce his bogus victim, he then got off the phone.

The office of the attorney general has a consumer division. They warned scammers sound real because they have been able to cull information from what is put on social media. They recommend callers end the call quickly and call their local law enforcement agency.