 So how are people manipulated into thinking they're talking to the police? As we heard in the last episode of BBC Trending, the scammers may appear on video calls in uniform or even in locations that look like a police station. Victims are sent fake documents that appear to incriminate them. They're threatened with deportation, they're threatened with arrest of themselves or their family members if they don't pay large sums of money. In some cases, victims believe they're paying bail, but then they're asked for more.