A new disturbing scam that takes advantage of the generosity of strangers has emerged, and one mother, Nancy Walsh, is sharing a warning that could sаvе you from getting yourself into trouble.
Her urgent message reads: “If you see a stroller, car seat, or any type of baby situation alone in the middle of nowhere, please, I repeat, don’t get out. Be safe.”
Of course, when noticing any baby equipment on the side of a road, our initial reaction would be to get out of the car and make sure no baby or child is in trouble.
Walsh, an estate agent, encountered this potentially alarming scene that might raise concern for individuals traveling alone.
She posted photos of an аbаndоned stroller positioned on the side of a country road. Her car appeared to be the sole vehicle in the area, and her headlights illuminated the pram, which was oriented away from her direction of travel, making it impossible to determine if there was anything inside it.
The stroller was positioned on a grassy verge adjacent to the road, which was flanked by large trees on one side. This kind of scenario might be particularly unsettling due to the isolated setting and the mysteries associated with the аbаndоned stroller.
According to Walsh, and plenty of other social media users, this is a trap. “Never get out. Always call 911 and let local authorities investigate,” one person wrote. “Yes, people lie in wait. At best they rob you, at worst they bash you too,” another added. “Families are struggling, some of them will use kids as bait,” some else commented.
This alleged scam is done in order for a person to get out of their vehicle and leave it unattended while they check on the stroller. The scammers then steal the vehicle, rob the person, or even hurt him physically.
However, there were also those who commented under Walsh’s post and said that some people leave baby stuff at the side of the road because they are still usable and they don’t want to throw them as someone might find them useful.
But most of them agreed that the reason behind these аbаndоned strollers is sinister. “Someone may have put it on for when someone gets off [the road] to see what happens…,” a person wrote. Another agreed, adding: “It’s a bait trap. don’t get out. Pull over. STAY IN THE CAR. Lock the door. And call 911 FAST.”
Walsh’s warning isn’t the first one issued on the same matter.
“OMG – I would be out of the car so fast to check, thanks for the warning,” one mother commented. “This is so cruel because they are targeting the best of us,” another person who said they would certainly get out and check if there was a child in dаngеr added.
The ‘аbаndоned baby’ scam is a troubling part of a broader trend of deceptive practices aimed at exploiting the goodwill of kind-hearted individuals. Other similar scams involve a person feigns being passed out on the roadside while others wait in ambush to аttасk those who offer help.
Some people shаrеd their personal experiences with such scams. “I pulled over to help a man passed out on the side of the road once. The police officer yelled at me and said it is often a scam and as a single woman I should be more careful,” one social media user posted. “I have heard of women screaming for help only to do the same thing. Just call the cops and move on,” another person warned.
Walsh’s post gathered plenty of attention and has been shаrеd 23,000 times.
No matter the urge to provide help to those we believe are in some sort of trouble, we should always be extra cautious and make sure we don’t put our own lives at risk.
We Postponed Our Wedding Because of My Fiancé’s Business Trip, but I Accidentally Saw Him in Town That Same Day
When Jennifer’s fiancé, Chris, postpones their wedding for a last-minute business trip, she’s heartbroken. But on her birthday, the day they were meant to marry, Jennifer spots him in town. Suspecting betrayal, she confronts him, only to uncover a life-altering secret that Chris has spent years keeping quiet.
Six months ago, when Chris got down on one knee in the park where we had our first date, I thought nothing in my entire life could feel more perfect.
A smiling couple | Source: Midjourney
We set the date for late fall, on my birthday, no less. It felt right, like everything in my life had been leading to that moment.
Chris and I were two halves of a whole, and as cheesy as that sounds, I mean it. He was the methodical planner, thriving on spreadsheets and five-year goals, while I was the impulsive dreamer, chasing creative projects and wandering wherever life led me.
Together, we found balance.
A stack of wedding invitations | Source: Midjourney
Or so I thought.
But then something happened that made me question everything.
A month before our wedding, Chris’s boss threw us a massive curveball. Chris had to attend a crucial business trip.
On the same day as our wedding!
An older man sitting at his desk | Source: Midjourney
“It’s just three days, love,” Chris said, holding my hands. “I know how disappointing it is, but at the same time… this is huge for my career, Jen. There’s a promotion on the line, and it could mean big things for us. We could move into our dream home sooner, we could extend our honeymoon for longer… I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important.”
I was devastated. I mean, who wouldn’t be?
But what could I do? Reluctantly, I agreed to postpone the wedding for a few weeks. I tried to put on a brave face, telling myself that it was just a small delay along our journey.
An upset woman sitting on a couch | Source: Midjourney
“Fine,” I said. “And I’ll make all the calls to the vendors and send out messages to all our guests. You focus on work and the trip, and I’ll do the rest. Okay?”
“I knew you’d get it,” he smiled.
Then my birthday arrived, the day we should have been saying ‘I do.’ Instead of getting all dressed, spending time getting my hair and makeup done to perfection, I found myself wandering aimlessly through the city.
A woman walking down a street | Source: Midjourney
My bridesmaids had wanted to spend the day with me, knowing that Chris would be away, but I didn’t want to see them. I didn’t want to see anyone.
“Why are you acting like the wedding is canceled, Jen?” my friend Avery asked. “It’s not. It’s just been postponed.”
“I know that,” I said. “But… I can’t help the way I feel. It’s just… never mind.”
“You can talk to me, Jen,” she said softly.
A woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney
“Yes, but I don’t even know what words to use. I’m feeling deflated, I guess. That’s all. I want to be alone. But I’ll come over tomorrow, I promise.”
I cut the call and left home in my boots. The crisp autumn air bit at my cheeks as I clutched my coffee, trying to ignore the gnawing ache in my chest.
The streets blurred as I walked, my thoughts spinning. I missed Chris. I missed him terribly. And I missed what the day should have been.
A person holding a cup of coffee | Source: Midjourney
Eventually, I ended up on the outskirts of town, where a fancy boutique hotel caught my eye. Deciding I needed a drink, something stronger than coffee, I stepped inside the warm lobby.
The soft hum of voices and clinking glasses greeted me as I made my way to the bar. The bartender had just started making my drink when something, or someone, caught my eye.
There he was.
Chris.
The exterior of a hotel | Source: Midjourney
In a suit, standing at the reception desk, talking to the concierge.
My heart stopped.
I blinked, sure that I was imagining things. Chris was supposed to be 500 miles away on his business trip. So, what the hell was he doing here?
Before I could think, I slapped a note on the bar, paying for my untouched drink. I stormed toward the staircase where he had disappeared. My boots echoed against the polished wood as I raced upstairs, my pulse pounding in my ears.
A note on a bar counter | Source: Midjourney
“Chris!” I shouted. “What is happening? Why are you here? What are you doing here?!”
He turned, startled, his face turning pale before my eyes.
“Jen! Wait!”
“No!” I said, my voice giving my feelings away. “You lied to me, Chris! You’re supposed to be on a business trip. Are you… are you cheating on me? Is that what this is?”
A man wearing a suit | Source: Midjourney
His hands shot up in defense.
“No, Jen, I swear it’s not that. Just… please, come with me. I’ll explain everything.”
I followed him down the hall, my anger simmering under the surface. He stopped outside a door, pulling a keycard from his pocket.
“What’s in there? Who is in there?” I demanded.
A man holding a hotel keycard | Source: Midjourney
“Just… trust me.”
The door swung open, revealing a simple hotel room. My stomach churned as I scanned the space, expecting to see some other woman. Instead, it was empty.
Chris gestured to the armchair by the window.
“Sit down,” he said softly.
“Explain, Chris,” I said, suddenly exhausted. “Now. Please.”
The interior of a hotel room | Source: Midjourney
He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“Jen, I’ve been working on something for a long time. For years, actually. It’s about your mother.”
I froze.
“My mother?” I echoed. “What?”
He nodded, his voice trembling slightly.
An upset woman holding her head | Source: Midjourney
“I know you don’t talk about her much, but I know how much it’s hurt you, love. Not knowing why she left you at the hospital… not knowing where she went or why.”
I swallowed hard, the familiar ache of abandonment rising in my chest.
“For three years, I’ve been trying to find her,” Chris continued. “I hired private investigators, scoured records, even contacted labs to trace potential matches. And… I think I found her.”
A man holding his head | Source: Midjourney
My heart thudded in my chest.
“There’s a woman,” he said. “Her name is Margaret. She’s staying here at the hotel. I didn’t tell you because… well, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to get your hopes up in case it wasn’t her. I didn’t even know how to bring it up. But a few weeks ago, we got confirmation that her story matches yours. She’s been looking for you, Jen. My PI told me.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“You’ve been doing all this for me? And you didn’t tell me?”
A private investigator sitting at a desk | Source: Midjourney
He stepped closer, his voice gentle.
“I wanted to protect you. And… I wanted it to be a surprise for your birthday. If it was her, I mean.”
I sank into the closest armchair, my legs too shaky to hold me.
Two hours later, there was a knock at the door. My stomach flipped as Chris stood to answer it.
A woman sitting in an armchair | Source: Midjourney
When the door opened, a woman stepped inside.
She was tall and graceful, with streaks of gray in her dark hair. Her eyes, a piercing shade of green, locked onto mine, and I felt like the air had been punched out of my lungs.
We stared at each other for a long moment, neither of us speaking.
Finally, she broke the silence.
“Jennifer?”
A smiling older woman | Source: Midjourney
My name on her lips sounded strange, foreign yet familiar.
I stood slowly, my hands trembling.
“You’re… my mother?”
Tears filled her eyes as she nodded.
“I think so. But… we should go to the lab for a DNA test, just to be sure.”
A close up of a woman | Source: Midjourney
“No,” I said, my voice firm despite the storm of emotions swirling inside me. “I don’t need a test. I know it’s you.”
It sounded stupid, I know. But I could see it all over her face. It was clear, if this woman wasn’t my mother, then she was still closely related to me.
She smiled softly, her tears spilling over.
“You look just like my mother,” she said. “I’ve been looking for you for so long.”
I blinked, confused.
An older woman sitting on a couch | Source: Midjourney
“You’ve been looking for me?”
She nodded, sitting down across from me.
“It’s a long story,” she said, her voice shaky. “Forty years ago, when I gave birth to you, there was a terrible mistake at the hospital. The nurse mixed up the babies… and I… I left with someone else’s child.”
My head spun.
“What?”
A newborn baby girl | Source: Midjourney
She shook her head.
“I didn’t know the truth until years later, when my daughter, well, the daughter I thought was mine, died in a car accident. A DNA test revealed she wasn’t biologically related to me. I was devastated. And that’s when I started searching for my real daughter. For you.”
My throat tightened.
“But… my mother left me at the hospital. That’s what my foster mother told me.”
The exterior of a hospital | Source: Midjourney
Her face crumpled.
“I know. I think the woman who was supposed to take you home ran away when she realized the mistake. I’m so sorry, darling. You were abandoned because of what happened, and it’s all my fault. I passed out after I gave birth to you, I didn’t know any better when I came to.”
Tears streamed down my face as I tried to process everything.
Chris wrapped an arm around me, his touch grounding me.
A woman in a hospital bed | Source: Midjourney
“You’re not alone anymore,” he whispered.
Looking at the woman in front of me, my mother, I felt a strange mix of pain and hope. After years of wondering, I finally had answers. And on my birthday, of all days.
“It’s the best gift I could have asked for,” I said softly.
A smiling woman | Source: Midjourney
Two weeks later, we finally celebrated our wedding. My mother sat in the front row, tears shining in her eyes as Chris and I said, “I do.”
And for the first time in my life, I felt whole.
A smiling bride | Source: Midjourney
When Jake insists on cooking Thanksgiving turkey for the first time, Jen is skeptical but supportive until the result is a culinary disaster no one at the table can ignore. But the real shock comes when she discovers the recipe isn’t Jake’s. As tensions simmer and doubts creep in, she’s forced to confront the cracks in their marriage. This Thanksgiving, the turkey isn’t the only thing leaving a bad aftertaste.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
Leave a Reply