Warning about phone scam claiming loved one was kidnapped

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - A Henry County teacher said scammers called her mother and brother in the middle of the night, screaming at them, claiming they kidnapped her, and plan to cause their loved one harm.

It’s a new terrifying scam which is just now targeting people in metro Atlanta and elementary school. Teacher Chelsea Munroe is speaking out to warn others not to fall for it.

"The first thing he heard when he answered the phone was a woman crying and screaming, and at first he thought it was me and the guy said 'We have your sister,'" said Munroe.

Munroe describes the heated, confrontational phone call her brother received at 3:45 a.m. Wednesday.

"He said it was a really aggressive phone call, like, there was a lot of cussing and yelling and stuff, and it lasted I think like six minutes," said Munroe.

The scammer had also tried to call Chelsea's mom just moments before .Chelsea said the call appeared as though it was coming from her but it was a spoof. Luckily, she said, her brother didn't give in right away.

"The guy kind got agitated with him and didn't want to speak to him anymore, because he ended up hanging up the phone, because my brother asked to talk to me, and he said ‘No, you can't talk to her,’ and he said ‘Well, I am not giving you any money unless I talk to her,’ and then he hung up."

Her next step was to report the call to the authorities. After some online research, she reached out to the Federal Trade Commission and then Henry County Police.

"They knew our addresses, they knew where my brother lived, he said 'Your sister told me you live in Pooler' which is Savannah, and obviously they knew who my parents were too because they tried to call them and none of our phone calls are similar or the same so, I don’t know how you find that. "

She said the information the scammer claimed to know was public record but presented in the form of a terrifying scam.

"Try to tell as many people as you can because I think a lot of people could be scammed by it because, especially if my mom would have answered, because I think my mom and dad would have fallen for it."

Chelsea's mother agrees, she might have, and this whole situation has her uneasy. She said she is worried that this much information is out there about her family.