Rockford Parents Need to Be Aware of this ‘Virtual Kidnapping’ Scam
When my son turned 18, I remember thinking to myself that I no longer had to really worry about him because he was an adult now and he'd be just fine on his own.
That thought was brief; no matter how old your child is, that worry never goes away and I realized that when instead of shutting off my phone at night to get some blissfully uninterrupted sleep, I was keeping my phone on and next to my temple so I didn't miss him or god forbid the police calling should the worst happen while he's away at college.
It turns out, there's another call that parents need to worry about getting while their kids are away, and it's a call you never should ever have to expect; after all, this isn't Hollywood and you're not Liam Neeson in the movie Taken.
That's almost what this scam sounds like. According to WGN, a Utah family has a serious warning for parents about "virtual kidnapping." It's the newest and scariest way that scammers try to steal thousands of dollars from you.
Imagine getting a call from a man who tells you that they have your child, you can't tell anyone and then you have to do everything they say to get them back. It happened to Jeff Weber, who with the help of his co-workers, was able to sneakily get a hold of his wife to make sure his 13-year-old daughter was in fact safe and ultimately prove that the alleged kidnapping was actually a scam.
A few days later, Weber got the call again and this is what it sounds like:
So what do you do if you get a call like this? Unfortunately, police say it's almost impossible to find these virtual kidnappers, but Weber has a special message of his own for parents,
“Keep the caller on the phone as long as possible. Say whatever you have to, to not hang up, and find a way to also call police and call your son or daughter to make sure they are safe and where they are supposed to be."
Parents, be vigilant and keep your eyes and ears open for these calls. You probably don't answer the phone when it's from an unknown number, but if you do, it could very well be one of these scammers. Be careful.
In a Snap! Fitness