The killer who uses the sound of a crying baby to lure victims-Fiction!

A Killer is Luring Victims to the Front Door by Using the Sound of a Crying Baby-Fiction!

Summary of the eRumor
A woman allegedly called police to tell them there was a crying baby at her door.
The police warned her not to go outside and said that a killer had been using a recording of a baby's cry to get women to open their doors and come outside.

The Truth
There is no evidence this is happening or has ever happened.
One curious thing about people who fabricate Internet rumors is how unrealistic they can be.
If most of us heard a baby crying on our front porch, we would immediately go investigate it, not leave the baby crying and call the police.

Last updated 3/29/03

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

WARNING
Crying baby warning
Truth or fiction?

Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the
night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she
thought it was weird.

The police told her "Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door."
The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a
window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run
over.

The policeman said, "We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do,
DO NOT open the door." He told her that they think a serial killer has a
baby's cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking
that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it, but
have had! ! several calls by women saying that they hear baby's cries outside
their doors when they're home alone at night.

Please pass this on! and DO NOT open the door for a crying baby.
CALL THE POLICE!!

This e-mail should probably be taken seriously because the Crying Baby
theory was mentioned on America's Most Wanted last Saturday when
they profiled the serial killer in Louisiana.