California mother loses $5,400 in five-hour phone kidnapping scam
Deborah Del Mastro, a Navy veteran from California, was held on a phone call for over five hours while a caller pretended her daughter Sarah had been kidnapped and demanded money.
While eating breakfast, Deborah Del Mastro answered a call from a local number and was told a Mexican drug cartel had abducted her 37-year-old daughter Sarah. The voice on the line sounded like Sarah in a panic, which convinced Deborah to stay on the call for more than five hours. The caller demanded $20,000, then negotiated down as Deborah explained she only had $2,000, eventually directing her to send four separate MoneyGram and Western Union payments that added up to $5,400.
He instructed her to keep her phone charged and to move to different locations so he could monitor her actions. Throughout the ordeal the scammer controlled the conversation, warned her against seeking help, and provided cover stories for any bystanders. Deborah and her husband eventually stopped the payments and reported the fraud to local authorities. The experience left her deeply traumatized and prompted a community fundraiser to recoup the lost money.
