Crime Roundup: Abduction Scammers Seek to Extort Money from Their Victims

A local woman nearly became a victim to a trending child abduction scam, police say.

The woman says she received a phone call last week stating that her daughter had been kidnapped and that she would need to wire money to Mexico for her release. Police confirmed that the child was indeed safe and that this was a hoax meant to extort money from the victim.

A phone call of this type has been one of many in the area, police confirmed last month. If you receive a phone call like this, do not wire any money. Rather, immediately notify the police and check to see if your child is OK.

“These scammers will try to keep you on the phone with them so you cannot call police or anyone else and keep your mind distracted and frazzled for fear of your child’s safety,” according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

FCPD also reported in the past week:

LARCENIES: 

10300 block of Brittenford Drive, purse from vehicle

1700 block of Business Center Drive, cash from business

2200 block of Castle Rock Square, cellphone from residence

2500 block of Centreville Road, merchandise from business

13000 block of Henson Court, wallet from business

9800 block of Mill Run Drive, bag from vehicle

11500 block of North Shore Drive, bicycle from school

10700 block of Park Ridge Boulevard, wallet from vehicle

12300 block of Pinecrest Road, laptop computer from vehicle

11100 block of South Lakes Drive, beer from business

11100 block of South Lakes Drive, wallet from business

STOLEN VEHICLE: 

11300 block of French Horn Lane, 2007 Lexus ES350

Anyone with information about any of the incidents reported by FCPD should call 703-691-2131 or 1-866-411-TIPS(8477), or text “TIP187” plus the message to CRIMES(274637).

In other crime news, a Herndon resident was detained early Saturday in Loudoun County after police say she was found drunk in public after an altercation in the One Loudoun plaza. Elizabeth A. Bellamy, 20, was arrested along with Bryan M. Moses, 25, of Maryland following the incident. Both were released on personal recognizance bonds.

Also, there there were two robberies recently in the Town of Herndon.

On June 15, police say an unknown suspect approached a woman in the 600 block of Center Street and demanded her phone. When she refused, police say she was pushed and the perpetrator snatched the phone, valued at $600, from her hand before riding away on a bicycle. The suspect is described as a juvenile Hispanic male. He was last seen wearing a dark flat-brimmed ball cap, dark T-shirt and dark pants. The case is still under investigation.

The next day, there was an armed robbery at a business in the shopping center in the 1100 block of Elden Street. Four suspects entered the business with handguns and wearing masks. Some were also wearing black pants. They took an undisclosed amount of money and they also took the store’s video surveillance system. All of the suspects spoke Spanish, police say. The case is also still under investigation.