Can you hear me now? Then pay up.

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Reuters reports that a growing number of Colombian mobile telephone users are being scammed by criminals posing as phone operators.

The bogus callers instruct the users to turn off their phone for two hours. The con artists then call the user’s family to report that their loved-one has been kidnapped, and instruct them about where to drop off the ransom before the two-hour deadline expires, Reuters reports.

Needless to say, the scam only works if the relative doesn’t have a home phone and isn’t nearby. But many poor residents in Latin America don’t have home telephone service, and get by with inexpensive cell phones and pay cards.

Posted by Geoffrey Mohan in Los Angeles