Scammer claimed to hold Delaware County man's son at gunpoint

MEDIA, Pa. (WPVI) -- Police in Delaware County are saying beware of scammers who use the phone to terrorize and trick you out of hundreds of dollars.

A check of internet records shows, 68-year-old Al Sarnasky is just the latest victim of a scam by someone calling from the phone number 215-268-2625.

The person claims that their relative is being held at gunpoint until they wire money.

In the case of Al, they claimed his son Alex caused a car accident and they wanted money to help cover damages.

"What he wanted me to do was pay the $900 deductible to get it fixed and they would release Alex. And he said I could not get off the phone until he had the money," Sarnasky said.

The victim says because he was not allowed to get off the phone, he was unable to verify what the man claimed and, out of fear, worked feverishly to wire $900 to a place in Puerto Rico.

He later learned that his son was never being held at gunpoint and realized he had been scammed.

"Makes you really feel stupid that you would fall for something like that," Sarnasky said.

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan says they've seen an uptick in scams targeting victims across the county.

"We're seeing a whole host of new scams as well as the traditional scams," Whelan said.

He says prevalent of late is someone calling people claiming to be with the IRS demanding immediate payment on taxes that are supposedly owed.

"And what they typically do is call and say, 'we're going to lien your house or we're going to freeze your bank account, we're the IRS.' My experience is that the IRS will not call you, they will send letters," Whelan said.

The D.A.'s advice for people getting such calls is to always verify the information you are receiving.

"If you do receive a call that seems suspicious, you definitely want to call your police department or the D.A.'s offices," Whelan said.

If you get a call from a number you don't recognize, don't answer it, and let it go to voicemail. More often than not, the scam artist will not leave a message, but if they do, write down the information and call police.