Watertown police say two people fall victim to extortion scam

February 4, 2020
Mike Tanner

WATERTOWN, S.D.—Watertown police say two people lost money in a phone scam over the weekend.

In both instances, the victims received a telephone call that came from a 528 area code.

When the victim answered, there was a man with a Spanish accent on the other end of the line saying he was part of a drug cartel, and he was holding the victim’s daughter. The man said the daughter had, “seen too much,” and they were going to kill her if the victim did not wire money to have her released.

The scam went so far as to have a female crying in the background.

Watertown police are not saying how much money the victims lost in this scam.

They say you should screen phone calls, and if you get a similar type call, contact police immediately.