'We are live on television right now...' Hilarious moment TV journalist turns on her 'anchor voice' to scare off a phone scammer

Jeanette Reyes of Fox 5 recorded the scam artist trying to fleece her
Ms Reyes used her professional voice to bamboozle the would-be criminal
The caller had warned her she was at risk of being jailed if she did not pay up
However Ms Reyes realized immediately that the caller was a scam artist

Published: 12:20 BST, 29 June 2021 | Updated: 15:01 BST, 29 June 2021

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This is the hilarious moment a television news anchor turned the tables on a fraudster when they called her and tried to scam her.

After appearing to go along with the caller as they demanded payment, Jeannette Reyes suddenly switched to her professional voice to announce: 'We are live on television right now...'

The scammers had tried to convince Ms Reyes that she owed $2,700 and if the money was not cleared immediately, she would be arrested.

Fox 5 anchor Jeannette Reyes, pictured, was contacted by scam artists who wanted to steal more than $2,000 from her account

Ms Reyes, pictured, has a high profile role on Fox 5 in Washington DC and shared the call with her 40.2K followers on Twitter

The Fox 5 Washington DC journalist knew immediately that the call was a scam and decided to have some fun at the caller's expense.

She filmed her response, sharing it on TikTok and Twitter, writing: 'Spam callers, I’m tired of ’em. Let’s have some fun.'

Ms Reyes, 31, can be seen apparently giving her credit card number to the caller, who told her there was an 'outstanding warrant' for her arrest, before she suddenly switches tone.

She says: '3..2..1… Good evening, we are live on television right now with an investigation into scam callers.

'We have the FBI on the line. They are tracking this phone number as we speak. Sir, what is your full name again?'

Unsurprisingly, the criminal hangs up immediately and only bleeps can be heard on the line.

The presenter is an anchor for FOX 5 Morning and Good Day DC. Her footage has had more than 1.6 million views on Twitter, where she has over 40,000 followers.

The problem of phone fraudsters is increasing around the globe. The FBI and Interpol have issued warnings about the scammers who use calls, text messages, and emails to contact their victims.

Experts warn against handing over any private details to anyone who contacts them.

They say banks and other financial institutions will not require details such as PIN codes from customers.

Ms Reyes published the video of the scam attempt to warn other people about the con artists

As soon as she told the scam artist they were live on television, the criminal hung up the phone

One fan responded to Ms Reyes' video, saying: 'They’re always calling me about unpaid taxes, an unnamed account balance or saying that I didn’t pay my daughter’s doctor bill.

'I don’t have a daughter.'

Another fan said: 'The sad part is elderly people are taken advantage of by the scammers.'

A third said: 'I say to them, "Hang on my husband works in the fraud department of the police. He says I should always put calls on loudspeaker to record just in case they are fraudulent. You don't mind do you?"

'Usually there is a click as they hang up.'

How to protect yourself from scam artists

The Federal Trade Commission has warned consumers in the US about con artists who are making calls, often using the names of famous companies such as Amazon and Apple.

In one version of the scam, the victim receives a recorded message claiming there is a problem with their account, a suspicious purchase, a lost package or even an order that cannot be fulfilled.

Other victims have been contacted by criminals claiming to be from Apple, claiming someone's iCloud account has been compromised.

According to the FTC: 'In both scenarios, the scammers say you can conveniently press 1 to speak with someone (how nice of them!). Or they give you a phone number to call.

'Don’t do either. It’s a scam. They’re trying to steal your personal information, like your account password or your credit card number.

'If you get an unexpected call or message about a problem with any of your accounts, hang up.

'If you think there may actually be a problem with one of your accounts, contact the company using a phone number or website you know is real.'

In the UK, contact the company or person who took your money - this could be fruitless if it's a scam, but it should be your first port of call.

If you bought something costing £100 or more on a credit card, you may be able to claim it back under a little-known law: Section 75.

Once you've paid using a credit card, the card provider and retailer are locked into a legally binding contract, so if the retailer can't or won't refund you, you can raise the dispute with your card provider.

If you can't claim the money back via Section 75 you could try using the chargeback scheme. It's a voluntary agreement by your debit or charge card provider to stand in your corner if anything goes wrong.

Unfortunately, if you've transferred the money using sites such as Moneygram, Western Union or PayPal, you generally can't get your money back once you've handed it over.