PURCELLVILLE, Va. February 17, 2017 - The Purcellville Police Department would like to inform the public of a recent scam that was experienced recently in the Purcellville area. The victim received a very convincing call that a family member had been kidnapped and the kidnappers were demanding ransom and to take all his money out of his bank account and wait for instructions to where to send the money. An alert retired law enforcement officer inside the bank observed the victim withdrawing money from his bank and that something was wrong and alerted police.
The victim was interviewed and it was determined to be an extortion attempt and the family member was contacted and was o.k. and was in no danger and fortunately no money was sent. The Purcellville Police Department reminds you to call your police department if you ever receive these types of calls and to be careful what personal information you post on social media that these scammers can use against you in making these calls.
