"My daughter was scared:" Mom warns other parents about digital kidnapping

MIAMI — In this era of social media, many people still post photos of themselves and their loved ones without much thought of where they "could" end up. But, a disturbing new trend known as digital kidnapping may change all of that.

A mom, who didn't want to be identified, talks about family's experience with digital kidnapping.



"She was talking very provocatively online to other males using my daughter’s profile picture.  She was posting on dating websites using my daughter’s pictures," said one mother, who did not want to be identified.

A scary prospect for any parent to learn their child's picture is being used by someone else on social media platforms and dating sites.

"The impersonator took some of the pictures of my daughter, who has long brown hair, and she also used other pictures that she found online of other teenage girls without their faces showing that looked like it 'could' be my daughter because they also had long brown hair or they had the same body shape," the mother said.

The mom wants other parents to hear her story to warn other families.

"Her friend told her that she saw somebody on Instagram with her picture, but she was saying derogatory things to other Instagram members, and she knew that my daughter was not like that," the mother said.

The family was stunned to see their daughter's pictures on the account and more shocked to see the dialog between the account and strangers.

"My daughter was scared because she didn’t know who was impersonating her, at the time we didn’t know if it was a man, woman, a child," the mom recalled.

First, the family contacted the police. Then, they learned the owner of the account knew their daughter. Once the minor involved was contacted, the images and the accounts were removed.

"So, in her fantasy life, when she stole my daughter’s identity, she was living a completely opposite lifestyle," the mom said.

Experts say if you don't want photos stolen — don't post them.

Another tip: use the strictest privacy settings on social media sites, which can prevent people from stealing photos.

"The great thing about the Internet is it brings the world closer, and the bad thing about the Internet is it brings the world closer.  So, we got to be careful about who we are allowing into our homes, into our businesses," advised U.S. Postal Inspector Bladismir Rojo.

Once you post an image, don't think you have any control over the picture.  In this case, the account was deleted after the victim’s family contacted the account owner.