Recently, many smartphone users in the United States might have received Amber Alerts, which are emergency notifications issued by law enforcement agencies to seek public assistance in locating abducted children. However, there is a situation that authorities warn the public not to respond to.
Last Saturday (January 4th), the California Highway Patrol (CHP) issued a “scam alert” on various social media platforms, cautioning the public to beware of scammers impersonating “AMBER Alert representatives.”
The scammers would call and claim to be from the “AMBER Alert system staff,” offering to help you “register” your child for better protection by law enforcement. They would request sensitive personal information and even suggest meeting at your home, which is not how the AMBER Alert system operates, emphasized the CHP.
The AMBER Alert system is primarily used in North America for child abduction or missing child alerts. When a child abduction occurs, authorities disseminate alerts through mobile phones and various media to expand the search for missing children, leading to the rapid rescue of many children.
AMBER Alerts typically appear suddenly on smartphone screens with intense vibration and a loud, piercing alarm sound, and sometimes on electronic signs on highways. Only law enforcement agencies activate AMBER Alerts when investigating cases of child abduction or disappearances.
According to public records, the AMBER Alert program originated in 1996 following the abduction and tragic murder of 9-year-old American girl Amber in Texas, whose death had a profound impact on the community, prompting law enforcement agencies to establish an emergency alert system to help recover abducted children.
California has implemented the AMBER Alert program statewide since 2002, with over 320 activations involving more than 380 victims to date. With public assistance, authorities have safely recovered 97% of the children.
The CHP states, “We are the only authorized agency in the state to activate AMBER Alerts, and there is no need for prior registration of child information.”
To activate an AMBER Alert, several conditions must be met, including confirming a kidnapping or child abduction by legal guardians or caregivers, the victim being under 17 years old or having mental or physical disabilities, facing severe bodily harm or death, and issuing the alert aiding the public in helping locate the victim.
In response to the current scams, authorities remind the public, “Do not provide personal information to strangers, do not answer calls from unknown or ‘possibly a scam’ numbers. If scammers have contacted you, immediately report it to local law enforcement.”