Kidnapping and ransom demand were a hoax
Published 1:30 am Friday, November 4, 2016
POULSBO — A Poulsbo woman received a call on Nov. 2 from a man who said he had kidnapped her daughter, and was demanding a ransom or he would kill her.
In the background, the woman said she could hear someone crying and yelling for help.
Turns out it was a hoax.
At 11:18 p.m. that day, Poulsbo Police patrol officers responded to the local women’s cellphone call for help. She told officers she was on the phone with what sounded like “a foreign-accented male.”
The suspect claimed he had kidnapped the woman’s daughter and he was demanding ransom money, or he
would kill the daughter, the Poulsbo Police Department reported in a news release. “The suspect was directing the victim to a local bank, in order for the victim to wire money, when officers arrived. It is undetermined at this time how the suspect knew the victim has a daughter.”
Officers contacted the daughter by phone; she attends college out of state, and was fine and not the victim of a kidnapping.
“The suspect, in this case, had a female accomplice crying and yelling for help in the background, prior to the male suspect making his demands, adding urgency and credibility to the scam. The Poulsbo Police Department is cooperating with federal law enforcement on the case.
“We are aware this type of scam has recently been on national news [and we] want the public to be informed this has also happened locally.”
The police department provides these tips.
• The caller ID will often have a phone number that displays “Unknown” or it will have more numbers than a standard 10-digit phone number. The phone number in this case had 13 numbers and was most likely a Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, call.
• Do not give personal information. Ask to talk to the “kidnapped relative.”
• Flag someone down who can call 911 for you and get law enforcement involved as soon as possible.
• The kidnapper will try to keep the victim on the phone until they have wired ransom money to an account.
• Try to get in touch with your relative as soon as possible on another phone.
• If you’re sure it’s a hoax, simply hang up and call law enforcement.
