Wilkes County sheriff warns of kidnapping ransom call scam

WASHINGTON, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - The Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office is warning families about an extremely convincing kidnapping and ransom phone scam that recently targeted a local resident.Sheriff Darrell Powers says a local man answered a call that appeared to be coming from his wife’s actual phone number. Instead of hearing her voice, an unknown man claimed he had kidnapped the woman, was holding her for ransom and demanded money immediately. The caller made aggressive threats, trying to frighten the husband into paying before he could verify her safety, Powers said.The wife was found safe, but her cell phone had apparently been compromised and was no longer working properly. When deputies arrived at the couple’s home, the scammer was still on the line demanding money and making threats, Powers said.Powers says this was a calculated attempt to create panic by using “spoofing” technology, which allows criminals to fake caller ID information so it looks like the call is coming from a tr