My SD Moms One of a parent’s worst fears is their child being kidnapped. The thought is so horrific to parents that just imagining it is almost too much to handle.
We do everything in our power to assure that our children are safe and sound. According to recent reports out of Washington State, a scammer is taking advantage of those fears and is pretending to kidnap kids and demanding ransom from their parents.
Recently, mom Kelly Nelson took a call from a blocked number and heard a little girl crying out for her mother in the background. Kelly assumed it was just a wrong number, but then as her hear dropped, she had her worst nightmare realized. A man got the phone and said, ‘is this Kelly? We have Rebecca.'” Nelson had just dropped Rebecca, her 13-year-old daughter, off at school that morning.
Nelson says that a man with an accent told her that he had kidnapped Rebecca and was going to hurt her if Kelly didn’t pay him. According to the mother, the man debated the ransom amount before finally settling on $500. As the “kidnapper” and Nelson debated a location point to exchange the ransom, the mother made a point to take careful notes so she could remember what he was saying.
As soon as Nelson hung up the phone, she immediately told her husband to call her daughters’ school. School administrators were quickly able to confirm that the couple’s daughters were safe and in class. Kelly promptly got the police involved and stated,”Until I could say my kid was at school, I was just in panic mode.”
Sgt. Ryan Abbott from the King County Sheriff’s Office stated that local police aren’t sure if the scammer has targeted more than these two families. But they’ve issued an official warning to parents to stay alert just in case. Sgt. Ryan said, “If it seems like a scam, if everything doesn’t seem to add up, then you’re probably right into another scam. Don’t ever give them any personal information.”
If you or any other parents feel like you have been targeted by this scam, they should write down as much information about the call as they can remember, and immediately call the police to report it.
Read more at thestir.cafemom.com.
