Norwich — Police are investigating a phone scam involving a fake hostage or kidnapping situation and a demand for money.

It is similar to a scam reported by several residents in East Lyme last month.

In a Facebook post, Norwich police said they received three different complaints about a convincing scam in which a female pretends to be in distress, a male takes the phone and claims to have the daughter or granddaughter of the person they are calling.

Each call contained the same detailed story and ultimately ended in a demand for money, police said. Police said the scam is occurring in other areas of the state as well.

As a reminder, police said most scams request payment in unusual or untraceable forms such as gift card numbers or third-party money transfer services.

No financial losses were reported in any of the scams.