Take that threatening phone call demanding money for an outrageous claim with a grain of salt.

In yet another example of a phone-based scam, the Boston Police Department on Sunday sent officers out to check in on a woman and her young daughter in the area of Waltham Street who had allegedly been kidnapped, based on a call the woman’s parent had received.

“The unknown suspect was demanding a cash payment through an online application,” the BPD relayed in a statement warning people of such scams. “On arrival, the officers safely located the individuals referenced in the threatening phone call who did not appear to be in any distress.”

The scam appears to be a kidnap-angle to what is known as the “grandparent” scam, a fraud the Herald has reported on regularly.

In a relatively recent example of such a scam — with this one employing the “fake accident ploy” variant to the con — an East Boston grandfather got a call in July 2022 reporting that his nephew had been drinking and hit a pregnant woman with his car and was arrested. But the caller said a $7,500 wedged in a magazine and sent in an envelope to a Pennsylvania address would take care of the problem.

The grandfather dutifully did as he was told, and then called the nephew only after and found that he was just fine and had just left work.

While this grandparent was able to recoup his loss, many others could not — with the Boston-based National Consumer Law Center reporting that phone scams like this cost victims billions of dollars every year.

Thankfully, Sunday’s con wasn’t successful in the least as no money was transferred.

Should the phone ring and you learn of some devastating news that can be fixed with a payment, the police recommend calling them immediately — with relevant information like the caller’s phone number and the details of the message or call. Then contact the person the scam references and see if they’re actually in any distress.

It’s also a good move, the police say, to push back a little on the caller: does the caller actually know specific information about the person they are talking about, like what the person physically looks like or where that person is specifically located? If not, that’s a major red flag.

In addition to filing a report with the Boston Police Department, victims are also encouraged to report any Phone/Internet Fraud Scams to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (82-4357); or TTY, for the deaf or hard of hearing, at 1-866-653-4261; or visit their website at: www.consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts