In Seattle, Washington, there has been a rise of “prank” kidnapping phone calls. The scammer uses an unidentified phone number to call parents and alert them that they have kidnapped their child and asks for ransom money.
The first instance of this scam was reported on March 8th when a mother dropped her two children off at the school bus, but then received a call claiming that he had kidnapped her daughter and demanded $500 in trade for her daughter. The concerned mother called her children’s school and confirmed that both of her children were safe in school.
The King County Sheriff’s Office believes that the scammer is using social media to research the victims in order to make the calls more personal.
Washington Police are currently investigating these phone calls.
