‘Digitally kidnapped my daughter’: Missouri mom says she discovered her friend allegedly posed as her daughter’s mother online

A mother from Missouri shared a troubling story on TikTok about her longtime best friend, who she claims stole her child’s identity online. According to the mother, her friend used photos of her daughter for several months to create a fake life, including making up a false story about giving birth to the child.

The mother says she found out about this after a coworker of her friend sent her a message. The coworker warned her that the friend was pretending to be the child’s mother. When the mom asked her friend about this, the friend denied doing anything wrong and told her to block the coworker, claiming the coworker was lying or had gotten the situation wrong.

This response made the mother more suspicious, so she decided to look into the matter further. She later posted what she found in a series of TikTok videos, and her story quickly spread online. One of her videos has already been viewed more than 1.8 million times.

Mother says screenshots show friend shared daughter’s photos to support false story

In her videos, the mother shared screenshots that she says prove the alleged impersonation took place. According to her, these screenshots show that her friend not only took pictures of the daughter from social media but also sent them to other people to back up a fake story about being the child’s mother.

The mother called the entire situation a form of “digital kidnapping.” She said the lie began to fall apart when other people noticed inconsistencies in the stories her friend had been telling them. In one of her videos, she said, “My best friend digitally kidnapped my daughter.”  Other parents have raised similar worries about children’s online safety, with some platforms now working to track teens’ social media use to help families stay informed.

In the comments, one person asked what the reason behind the alleged scheme was, suggesting it might have been an excuse to get out of work. Marissa replied that it started as a way for the friend to avoid work, but added that the friend had reportedly been struggling with infertility for some time. According to Marissa, the friend said during a phone call, “I guess I’ve always just wanted my own kid & felt like I’m never going to have my own.”

Other commenters focused on the coworker who first alerted the mother, with one writing, “That woman who told you is amazing. I hope her pillow is always cool and she gets all green lights forever.” Another commenter advised the mother to take legal action, writing, “Talk to a lawyer, get an order of protection and file charges. You might save someone else’s child’s life.”

Several commenters said the story reminded them of a Dr. Phil episode or speculated it could become the subject of a Netflix documentary. One commenter wrote that the situation reinforced their decision not to share photos of their own children, saying, “This is why I don’t like posting my kids or send pictures of my kids to anyone.”

Another commenter expressed shock that the alleged impersonator was the mother’s best friend, writing, “I am floored. I know the world is a scary place but this… you’re BEST FRIEND! Is wild and proves that people are really good at hiding who they truly are. I am so sorry this happened to you and your daughter.” Concerns like these have also fed into wider policy discussions, including a recent move to restrict children’s access to social media platforms in an effort to better protect young people online.