Bethlehem Man Out $500 in Bafflingly Stupid Kidnapping Scam

The last two times someone attempted to scam me were pretty non-eventful.

The first was when some guy asked me for some money because his car ran out of gas, but since he was all twitchy I decided against it. The next day, he asked me again as I was walking down the street. I brought this up to him, mentioning that the odds of him running out of gas two days in a row and asking for money on the same street corner were pretty slim. I said I would go back to his car with him and fill up the tank. 

He declined.

The second was when someone came to my place and genuinely tried to get me to buy into that acai berry bullshit. 

That just made me mad and wasted my time.

If someone called me and said they had a loved one kidnapped, though, I’d at least try and be clear on if that loved one was within 2,000 miles of said kidnapping site.

A Bethlehem man lost about $500 in a phone scam where he was told his father was being held hostage, city police say.

Authorities were dispatched to a home in the 400 block of Saucon View Drive for reports of a hostage situation, according police Lt. Mark DiLuzio. A man phoned a resident there to say his father had been in an accident and he was being held hostage for $2,000, police said.

Police were speaking with a woman at the home, but the son of the man who was reportedly kidnapped had already left to find money and pay the ransom, DiLuzzio said. The resident was told not to hang up the phone or else his father would be harmed.

After the resident wired $270 in cash to a Jesse Valles in Puerto Rico as well as $200 in prepaid AT&T phone minutes, police were finally able to get on the phone with him, DiLuzio said. The man’s father had not been in an accident and was safe at home in New Jersey, police soon learned.

“Part of the problem with this scam is that you’re told not to get off the phone, so you cannot verify if what they’re saying is true,” DiLuzio said.

He recommended people who receive a similar call to signal someone else to call police immediately and begin checking on the well-being of the alleged victim. SOURCE: The Express-Times

Ok, I have some questions here.

Did the son think his father was being held in Puerto Rico, or was that just where he had to wire the money?

Because, if his dad was actually just in New Jersey, it would seem like they don’t talk much considering a trip to Puerto Rico would probably be something that would come up in conversation.

Also, the not hanging up a phone thing. It seems pretty easy to now find another phone to make a call from if you’re still on the phone with the “kidnappers,” right? Or you could just go on Facebook and email the Bethlehem Police.

If you ever want to play a fun joke on a kid, kidnap their favorite stuffed animal and demand they pay the ransom in candy. Kids love that stuff. It won’t affect them down the road emotionally at all.