Milwaukee police: Be wary of phone calls from strangers which involve money requests

MILWAUKEE -- There has been a collision followed by a kidnapping -- and the victim is someone close to you. The news comes from a stranger on the phone demanding money -- and police say it is all a scam.

On Saturday morning, Delmonica Young received quite the curious call indicating her brother had been involved in a crash near 27th and National Ave. on Milwaukee's south side.

"When he said 'black SUV' I'm like, 'Oh, my God! My brother and his wife have black SUVs,'" said Young. "The guy sounded to be maybe foreign, maybe like, Nigerian maybe or something like that."

The man claimed the brother is wanted for homicide -- and that her brother was kidnapped to keep him quiet.

"He's like, 'We have him hostage in my basement! We got a pistol to his head! If you don't bring us this thousand dollars, (expletive), we're gonna kill him!" said Young.

But Delmonica noticed the so-called Nigerian accent went away during that conversation. So she called her brother.

"We get him on the phone. I'm like, 'Oh, my God,'" said Young.

Young realized she just avoided a scam attempt akin to one which Milwaukee police say led to a man being swindled out of $250 -- after he received a similar call on Saturday.

Milwaukee police say people should be wary of phone calls which involve money requests, adding the department is willing to verify the locations and safety of alleged kidnapping victims.