BURLINGTON, N.C. -- Police say Burlington residents were hit with a scam involving threats to family members and friends. 

  • The anonymous messages were coming through Facebook and WhatsAPP 
  • Police say the scammers used images of dead bodies
  • A majority of the victims are members of Burlington's Hispanic community

"They're telling them a family member has been hurt or captured and in order to get their release they need to send them a certain amount of money," Capt. Bret Currie with the Burlington Police Department said. 

He says scammers were even going above and beyond to make victims think it was real. 

"They're using pictures of dead bodies, bloody things like that an sending it to them to try to heighten that fear of the unknown," Currie said. 

He says the anonymous messages were coming through Facebook and WhatsAPP and that several people have fallen for the scheme. The department looked into several of the threats, but so far did not have any reason to believe the violence has actually occurred, officials say.

Investigators believed many of the messages were originating in the Dominican Republic or other countries. Currie says a majority of the victims are members of Burlington's Hispanic community. 

Police urged anyone who has received a message to call them even if they believe the threats are legitimate. 

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