Scammers claim UT students kidnapped

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Campus police at the University of Texas are investigating the calls some relatives of students have received asking for money, claiming that the student has been hurt or kidnapped. 

UT police said they have received four reports of this happening, which have all been scams. In each of the cases, a person with an accent has called demanding a small amount of money be transferred into an out of the country bank account.

UTPD Sgt. Charles Bonnet said in all the incidents the parents and grandparents called their children after receiving the ransom phone call and were able to get in touch with them.

The FBI has teamed up with UTPD to help with the investigation.

Investigators say they don't know how the callers are getting parents' telephone numbers.

Bonnet says any parents getting such a call should remain calm, take good notes and do not be afraid to ask questions to get as much information as possible from the callers in order to help police with their investigation.

UT police said anyone who has received a call claiming that a student has been hurt or kidnapped is asked to call campus police at 512-471-4441.

However this is not the first time this kind of scam has been reported.

KXAN reported in February about what authorities call the "Grandparent Scheme"  and the grandparents that had been scammed into wiring over $5,000 to Mexico. The con artist pretended to be the grandson of Bill and Sue Ella Foster and said he was arrested in Mexico and needed money immediately.

 According to numerous reports, the scheme has been around in some fashion for about three years and at least 19 states have reported variations on it. In one case, one person was taken for more than $19,000 before realizing it was the work of a swindler.

UT police and the FBI hope that anyone that receives any kind of call like this contact local authorities immediately.