Recently, on April Fools’ Day, a prank backfired on a 13-year-old boy who posed as a stranger and texted his former classmate, threatening to kidnap her. He had hoped to scare the girl, but her mother read the messages, took the threat seriously and informed the police. Since the girl was his former classmate, he had information about her. He sent several messages to her phone, claiming to be a 42-year-old professional kidnapper.

Not realising it was April Fools’ Day and that the whole thing was merely a prank, the girl’s parents made frantic calls to relatives and the school staff to ensure their daughter was safe. Once the parents reached the school and found her safe, they went to the Santacruz police station, where cops began ringing the boy’s number. When the boy did not pick up the calls, the cops messaged him. At this point, the boy got nervous and began sending apologetic messages to the girl’s number. Finally, it was revealed that the entire gimmick was a joke, and the frightened boy was let off with a stern warning. While this ‘prank’ did not lead to very serious consequences for him, people must be very careful about their ‘hoaxes’ and ‘pranks’, not just on Fools’ Day but every day.