Phone scammers are increasingly calling potential victims and trying to get them to wire money.

One of the scams involves pretending that a loved one is in trouble.

One Brooklyn woman, Ruka Curate, fell victim, thinking she was helping her brother out of a terrible situation.

The caller asked Curate if she had a brother who drives. When she said yes, he said the brother had just been in a bad car accident and that he needed her to wire $5,000 to save his life.

Curate called police after speaking with the scammer, but not before divulging personal information that left the scammer with access to her name, debit card number and other details.

Police say the scam is common and has been around for a while, although Curate had never heard of it before. She took her story to social media and discovered that it was indeed a common ruse.