It's the scam you're not prepared for. You get a call on your cellphone from your loved one, but when you pick up, it's someone else threatening to kill them. A Philadelphia man said he's sharing his story to warn others about this terrifying situation.

Bryan Weaver said at first, it was nothing out of the ordinary. He was in his kitchen when he got a call from his dad.

"It's not uncommon for my dad to call me at any point," Weaver said. "So I answered my phone and I said, 'Hey, what's up?' And the first thing I hear is whimpering. Like I thought my dad was crying."

But it wasn't his dad on the phone. Instead, it was a man telling Weaver he had to help his dad or else.

"And then I said, Who is this?'" Weaver said. "And he said, 'It doesn't matter who I am, if you don't send me $3,000 in the next two minutes, I'm going to put a bullet in your dad's head.'"

Weaver said he was shocked but quickly thought this scenario might not be real.

"I think I looked at my phone again to make sure that it was my dad calling, which it was," Weaver said.

Weaver said he asked to talk to his dad, but the man just kept demanding money. The call lasted three minutes, and then he hung up. A few minutes later, he was able to contact his dad and confirm the whole call was a hoax.

"I've heard about certain scams like this in the past, not as aggressive as this," Weaver said.

CBS News Philadelphia first reported on this scam earlier this summer when a Montgomery County woman shared her experience. She thought her sister had been kidnapped and sent money via the peer-to-peer payment platform, Cash App, but the transaction failed because the app flagged it as a scam.

Cash App estimates its "payment warnings feature" has helped prevent more than $2 billion in scams since 2020. The company uses various technologies to spot possible fraud and then sends warnings to users prior to the transaction.

"And then ask the customer to approve the payment anyway, or cancel and abandon the payment," Cash App chief risk officer Brian Boates said.

Most of the time, the user has the final say on whether to send the money, but in some high alert instances, Cash App blocks the transaction altogether.

"We try to increase awareness and education for customers on top of intervening in the moment so that they can make the right decision," Boates said.

Consumer awareness is a big priority for attorneys general across the country. Imposter scams, similar to the one Weaver experienced, were the top-reported scam in Delaware last year.

"I think it's an emotional reaction," Marion Quirk, director of consumer protection for the Delaware Department of Justice, said. "You want to help somebody that's in danger or need of money."

Experts say getting the word out and preparing loved ones can make all the difference.

"The more people know about this, the better," Weaver said. "The more they could be prepared to deal with this if they get this phone call."

These situations are often underreported, so if you or someone in your family thinks you've been the target of a scam, be sure to report it to the authorities.