HPP: A strong warning has been issued to parents by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) over an alarming new trend of con artists taking advantage of the fear of child abduction in order to get sensitive personal information.
Officials from the California Highway Patrol have reported that con artists have been calling parents at their homes while posing as “Amber Alert representatives.”
It is claimed by these con artists that they provide a service in which they register children in a database in order to assist in locating them in the event that they ever become missing or are kidnapped.
It is common practice for these con artists to request personal information from parents, and in some instances, they even attempt to set up meetings with them at their properties.
On the other hand, officials from law enforcement are warning parents not to fall for these strategies, highlighting the fact that this is not how the Amber Alert system operates.
Amber Alerts are exclusively activated by the California Highway Patrol (CHP), which is the only agency authorized to do so in the state of California. The system does not need any prior registration of children.
In addition, there is no official “Amber Alert representatives” and there is no exclusive database where children can be “registered” for alerts.
When it comes to getting calls from unknown numbers or any calls that appear suspicious or show up as “possible scam,” the authorities are asking parents to exercise caution and skepticism.
They stress the significance of staying away from these callers at all costs and never revealing any personal or sensitive information to them.
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If parents receive a call that appears to be a scam, the California Highway Patrol strongly encourages them to immediately report it to the local law authorities.
Since its inception in the 1990s in Texas in response to the kidnapping and tragic murder of Amber Hagerman, who was just nine years old at the time, the Amber Alert system has evolved into an indispensable instrument for the purpose of locating children who have been kidnapped.
All fifty states in the United States have embraced the system, and the federal government has collaborated with firms that provide telecommunications and social media services to assist in the dissemination of these emergency notifications to a wider audience in an effort to forestall the occurrence of additional catastrophes.
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“Stay informed and protect yourself,” CHP stated.
More than 1,200 children have been safely recovered by the Amber Alert system since it was first implemented, and this number is expected to reach 1,200 by December 2024.
In addition, the United States Department of Justice reports that wireless emergency notifications have been responsible for the rescue of 195 children.
These statistics not only underscore the significant role that the Amber Alert system plays in the protection of children, but they also emphasize the importance of parents remaining cautious against scams that target their concerns.