Port Chester Woman Scammed Out of $400

Three Port Chester residents received calls or texts from someone who threatened their brother would be killed if they did not wire money to a strange place immediately. In all three cases, the contact came from a number with a 305 area code, Police Lt. James Ladeairous said.

 One Port Chester woman, fearing for her brother’s life, went to Western Union and wired $400 to Puerto Rico after the caller said he’d been in an accident with her brother and that if she did not wire the money to pay for the damage he would murder the brother. The caller had asked for $1,000.

Later, the woman contacted her brother who was fine. She received the suspicious phone call around 10 a.m. June 25 and reported the situation to the police on June 26 around 3 a.m.

On June 28 and June 30 two others reported similar calls but did not wire money. One was told that the brother had been kidnapped at gunpoint and the caller demanded $1,500. The person who received that call told police the caller sounded like he had a Dominican accent.

Police are investigating the case and encourage anyone who receives similar calls or texts to report the incident.