Myrtle Beach man says scammers asked for $5K by claiming wife was kidnapped

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Authorities said a terrifying phone scam out of Myrtle Beach was a threat that sounded so real that a local man thought his wife was in danger.

Shane Benoit said scammers called him this week saying they kidnapped his wife and threatened to kill her unless he gave them $5,000.

Benoit said the scammers even had a woman on the phone who sounded like his wife.

"Even like the pitch with the terror and the way that she was breathing,” Benoit said. “I mean everything. If somebody told me that wasn't my wife, I'd say, 'You're lying.'"

Benoit and investigators believe the scammers hacked his wife’s Facebook page and used sound from videos she posted.

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