Petaluma Police Warn Of Kidnapping Scam

PETALUMA, CA — Petaluma police warned of a scam Monday afternoon after a woman came to the Police Department at about 3 p.m. and reported she received a call from a man who claimed to have just abducted her 17-year-old daughter.

The mother told police that during the phone call, she heard a female voice yelling for help. The male voice demanded all of her money from her bank account or he would harm her daughter, according to Petaluma police Lt. Ed Crosby.

As it does with all reports of abduction, the Petaluma Police Department took immediate steps to investigate the reported kidnapping, the lieutenant said.

The call Monday turned out to be false, as the girl subsequently was discovered to be alive and well, attending sports practice at her school in Marin County as expected, Crosby said.

Petaluma put out a news release about the incident to raise community awareness about the scam, which Crosby said was becoming more prevalent across the U.S.

"The 'kidnapping scam' is the latest iteration of scams meant to cause victims extreme distress as a means of coercing them out of their money," Crosby said. "Other variations include a caller posing as a lawyer or law enforcement demanding bail money for a jailed loved one, or the 'hitman scam,' in which an anonymous assassin claims to have been contracted to kill the victim unless the victim pays them off."

Crosby said many of these scams originate overseas and make use of "spoofed," or false phone numbers, making the suspect’s caller ID unreliable.

"The Petaluma Police Department will always treat incoming calls seriously, particularly those in which people are threatened with harm," Crosby said. "However, given the ubiquitous nature of these scams, it is prudent to be familiar with them and to take certain protective steps to reduce the chance of being victimized."

For the community's reference, Petaluma police also provided a link to an FBI article about virtual kidnapping fraud.

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