According to the King County Sheriff’s Office, a new scam has hit the families of young kids.

The suspects are a male or younger-sounding female, who are alleged to have called parents, claiming they have kidnapped their kids and won’t return them without money.

On March 8 in the Ravensdale area, a mother dropped her two kids off at the school bus in the morning.

A short time after the bus left, the mom got a call from a blocked number.

The male caller, described as having an accent, stated that he had her daughter and used her real name, although he had her last name slightly wrong.

He told the mom that if she didn’t meet him with money in exchange for her daughter’s release he would “kill the child.” In a panic, the mom called the school and confirmed both her daughters were in school and safe.

Four days later in unincorporated King County near White Center, a father received a phone call from a blocked number.

A younger sounding female came on the line pretending to be the daughter of that father.

The female stated she was kidnapped and the suspect needed money to release her.

The male suspect, again described as having an accent, then got on the phone and demanded money from the father or he “would hurt her”.

The suspect then hung up on the father and the number was blocked so he had no way to call back. The father called his daughter’s school and, once again, was assured the child was safe at school with no issues.

“The parents did the right thing in these instances, confirmed with the school their kids were OK and called 911 to report it,” the Sheriff’s office said in a press release. “Please keep in mind these type of phone calls are scams, never provide money to anyone over the phone.”