An Austin man was allegedly the target of a telephone wire-transfer scam over the weekend, with the caller claiming he had abducted the man’s wife in Mexico.

Phillip Ingvaldson, 35, told police on Sunday that a day earlier his mother had received a weird call regarding Ingvaldson’s wife, Yajaira, who has lived in Tijuana, Mexico, with an uncle since late last year .

The caller told Ingvaldson’s mother that they had abducted Yajaira and needed to talk to Ingvaldson, according to a police report.

Ingvaldson called back later on Saturday and spoke with a man who identified himself as “Manuel.” Manuel said he had Ingvaldson’s wife and that he could talk to her if he wired $1,500.

Ingvaldson was then hooked into a three-way call with Western Union and he gave information from his credit card, according to the report.

The transfer did not go through, but two cell phones were purchased using the credit card number — one in San Diego and the other in Oregon via a Web site. The report states that Ingvaldson has since canceled his credit card.

On Sunday, Ingvaldson got a call from his wife, who said the call was a scam that is common in Mexico. She instructed him to not try to send any more money.

At the same time, Ingvaldson received another call from the suspects, who stated there was a problem with his money transfer. Ingvaldson said he was talking with his and the callers hung up.

Ingvaldson was instructed by police to notify them if he received any more unusual calls. No one involved had any idea as to who made the suspicious calls.