Amber Alert Issued For A Mother And Child Appears To Be A Scam

MANCHESTER, NH - Manchester police issued an Amber Alert on Tuesday for a missing mother and her 4-year-old son.

Shortly after the Amber Alert was issued across several media outlets, and on cell phones, the mother and child were found safely. Manchester police detectives believe the incident was actually a sophisticated phone scam and they say there was no indication that the mother and child were in danger.

In these scams, someone calls the victim and says a family member is in trouble. They demand money for the individual’s safe return. The caller insists the victim not hang up. This is an attempt to shut down any communication with the victim’s family and friends, according to Spokesperson Heather Hamel of the Manchester Police Department

Police say if this ever happens to you, and you are concerned, stay on the line but use another device to text or email the family member in question to verify that they are safe. If no device is available, write down a phone number and give it to someone else so that they can call for you and also notify the police.

The scammer may also ask for other family member’s phone numbers. They then call them, loop them into the scenario and try to prey on them for more money.

Scammers use VPNs and phone number masking to make it appear like the number is coming from another location.

If you ever do wire money or send a gift card and feel unsure of the situation, be sure to call the bank or gift card company to put a stop to the payment. Then you should always contact the police.

Manchester police ask that anyone who is seeing this, pass it on to their loved ones who may not use social media or follow the news.

Manchester police received a call around 2:20 p.m. from someone concerned about a woman and child. Officers immediately began their investigation and began gathering information.

MPD Chief Aldenberg held a press conference on Tuesday detailing how the Amber Alert worked well due to the help of the community.