Family targeted in kidnapping scam, losing thousands of dollars [Video]

Law enforcement is warning of a theft-by-extortion scheme becoming more prevalent.The fake kidnapping scheme has already cost one family thousands of dollars.”A family is called saying, ‘We have your loved one, send us two thousand dollars and we’ll release them,'” Capt. Eric Sellers, with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in Omaha, Nebraska, said.That’s the ploy behind a new scam popping up across Sellers’ county. One Omaha family has lost $2,500 because of the crime.”One or two people on the phone. In this case, there was a woman screaming in the background, they believed it was their mother,” Sellers said. “You know the loved one was safe, but they did send the money.”Deputies believe the scammers conducted extensive research online about the victims and then wrote a convincing plot.”And literally, they’re on the other side of the phone with a script that they’re going off of that somebody wrote,” Sellers said.Sister …