The police are warning of an increase in the number of reports of Long Islanders who have been recipients of telephone scams.

It has been reported that the caller uses the names of family and relatives and claims they have been arrested, kidnapped or in a motor vehicle accident in order to get those who have received the call to wire them money.

"In one scenario, the caller claims that they have just been in a motor vehicle crash with a relative of the victim who refuses to pay for the damage. The caller claims to be holding the relative at gunpoint until the victim pays several thousand dollars. Other scenarios may include the caller claiming a family member of the victim has been arrested and needs money for bail, or a family member owes someone money. The victim is asked to withdraw money from an ATM and the caller will guide them to an institution where they can wire money," police said in a statement.

The police are advising that recipients of these calls should be careful to not accidentally reveal any information. If you receive such a call like these, you should immediately try to determine the whereabouts of your relatives to put your worries to rest and contact the police to report the incident.

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