Criminals are using ridesharing vehicles to kidnap children in worrying trend identified by the FBI

Criminals are using ridesharing vehicles to kidnap children in a worrying trend that has been identified by the FBI.

The Bureau made a public service announcement last month saying 'criminal actors' are using rideshare vehicles because there is a 'lower likelihood of detection and ease of facilitation'.

Although incidents of this have been rare, the FBI issued a warning due to the 'high impact' of the crimes.

The Bureau also pinpointed the pandemic as a time when there was a spike in cases such as this, The Hill reports.

'Since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, law enforcement received several reports of rideshare services being used to facilitate child abduction,' the FBI said. 

 Victims of the attempted abductions have since spoken out about the worrying impact that it has on them.

'It's affected my school life, my friends, my family,' a 15-year-old girl who was a victim of an attempted abduction said in 2019, according to ABC News. 

'It's had such a negative impact on me. Everywhere I go, I feel scared because I'm so much more aware of my surroundings now.' 

Criminals are using ridesharing vehicles to kidnap children in a worrying trend that has been identified by the FBI

Despite ride-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft banning children under the age of 18 from riding, they can often use an adult's account to bypass the laws. (File image)

The teenager spoke about how she regularly used ridesharing vehicles in New York but in the summer of 2019, an Uber driver tried to kidnap her.

It was revealed at the time, by The Nassau Country District Attorney's Office, that the driver was trying to force her home, and 'intended to sexually assault her'.

But the FBI does not believe this to be a one-off. It added in a Public Service Announcement: 'While other modes of transportation were used during the pandemic, the privacy of ride-share services allowed criminal actors to obfuscate potential witness identification and afforded them.' 

The FBI specifically used a 16-year-old boy from Texas as a case study who was abducted when ordering an Uber.

The teenager was set to ride for roughly 20 miles in April and was allegedly offered a drink during his journey.

But the young boy woke up later that day 31 miles from his destination in a random home before fleeing the property and alerting authorities.

The FBI also shared details about a child abduction in Mexico City in February where a seven-year-old boy's father asked a driver to stop off at a flower stand.

The dad left the vehicle, leaving the driver with the child who was later recovered after calling his mom from the car.

Car-share services are an ever-growing concept which have spiked over the last ten years.

Despite companies such as Uber and Lyft banning children under the age of 18 from riding, they can often use an adult's account to bypass the laws.

'I know a lot of drivers who've faced outraged parents,' Larry Duncan, a Lyft driver in Bowling Green, Kentucky, told Vox in 2019. 

'They yell and scream for you to give their kids a ride, and what some of us try to do, we say that the parent can ride with the kid, but they can't be alone.' 

The Bureau pinpointed the pandemic as a time when there was a spike in cases of attempted abduction. Pictured: Sepulveda Pass freeway in Los Angeles

The FBI has called on the public to report any suspicious behavior possibly involving child abduction to a local law enforcement immediately. 

An Uber spokesperson said: 'Safety is paramount to the Uber experience and the report outlined by the FBI is extremely concerning.

'We are always working to build features and policies designed with safety in mind, which is why we've introduced many safety features into the app, like the Emergency Button; Live Help from a Safety Agent; Text-to-911 capability (where available); and GPS tracking on every trip. 

'We also aim to do our part to raise awareness of these societal issues through education to help drivers spot the signs of human trafficking and report it.' 

They added that all drivers must have 'background checks on the federal, state and local level' and that riders  'must provide valid phone numbers, email addresses, and payment methods in order to use the platform – which is more than many other forms of transportation require.'

While Uber operates on a global capacity, rival ride-sharer Lyft is contained to the US and Canada. 

MailOnline also contacted Lyft for comment.