Wyckoff Mom Nearly Pays $10,000 In Kidnapping Scam: Police

WYCKOFF, NJ — Police help prevent a township mother from being scammed out of $10,000 recently.

The woman received a phone call Feb. 5 at 11 a.m. from a man claiming that her 14-year-old daughter had been kidnapped. The man demanded $10,000 for the girl's safe return, said Lt. Joseph Soto.

The resident heard a girl screaming in the background and thought it was her daughter, who was supposed to be at school. The mother was on her way to the bank to withdraw the ransom money when she saw Officer William Christopher, Soto said.

The woman flagged Christopher down and told him what happened. She was still on the phone with the alleged kidnapper when she met Christopher, who told her to go to the bank while he followed her, Soto said.

Christopher requested police go to the daughter's school to check on her. She was at the school and never in any danger, the lieutenant said.

When police tried speaking with the person on the phone, he hung up. The mother and daughter were reunited at the school, Soto said.

The school was briefly on lockdown while police responded there.

Wyckoff Police detectives and the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office determined that the call originated from Mexico. The phone number has been linked to several similar scams throughout the United States, Soto said.

"If you receive a call regarding a kidnapping or a family member needing money due to being in an accident, please check with your family member and contact the police before believing the caller on the line," Soto said.

Payments made in these kinds of scams is usually untraceable, Soto said.

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