My hands down, worst nightmare is having one of my kids kidnapped. Not knowing where they are? Are they being hurt? Are they dead or alive? Idaho parents went through the trauma of this nightmare thanks to this virtual kidnapping scheme. 

35-year-old Yanette Rodriguez Acosta of Houston, Texas is the woman behind the kidnapping scheme that has scarred several Idaho parents, as well as parents in Texas and California.

She has been sentenced to seven years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering according to KTVB.

Acosta allegedly had co-conspirators in Mexico who would call these terrified parents and demand ransom money.

The way they went about the whole thing is sickening. They would call these parents and on the other line, the parents would hear a "gasp" or "cry" for help. The parents would then often respond by calling out their child's name which would give that crucial information to the "kidnappers."

They then told these parents that their child would be raped or killed if they didn't wire them money. The parents have suffered not only monetary loss but obviously emotional trauma that may last a very long time.

Personally, seven years doesn't seem like enough for a crime like this to me, but I'm not the judge and I am glad that justice is being served at least to some degree. After her seven-year sentence is served Acosta will be on supervised release for three years.

If you ever get a call like this and your child isn't home, it's probably best to call the police (especially if another person is around to call the cops while you stay on the line with the "kidnappers") before falling victim of a horrible crime like this. Hopefully, we don't see this happening again here in the Treasure Valley any time soon.

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