(WXYZ) — A lot of people would love to go to a Detroit Lions game this season. So, when a Michigan mom with a social media following had someone reach out saying they worked with the Lions and wanted to gift her tickets — she believed them, until things got weird.
Many of you know the pure joy of being at a Detroit Lions game.
For 9-year-old Easton, it’s his favorite thing in the world. Knowing that, his mom, Lisa Kryger, posted this video to social media leading up to Easton’s 10th birthday in the hopes that Amon-Ra St. Brown would send him a birthday wish:
"People were tagging the Lions," said Lisa.
The video got over 80,000 views — and a direct message that gave Lisa hope.
"It looked like a real profile honestly," said Lisa.
A person claiming to be friends with a Lions "PR girl" messaged Lisa, writing that they wanted to get her family a suite for a game and a meet and greet with Amon-Ra St. Brown.
The person then asked if their friend, the Lions “PR girl" could text Lisa, and that’s when things got really weird.
"First she asked a little bit about me, asked me kind of ... odd questions, but not too odd, I was like ‘oh she just wants to know a little bit more about us,'" said Lisa.
The person texted Lisa a story about their supposed 6-year-old son, saying they were a Tigers fan who died from cancer, they sent a picture of a young woman posing on Ford Field, saying this was who they are, and then they set a time for Lisa and her son to meet them to go to a game.
"I was like, ‘oh, can my husband go?' And they’re like ‘I don’t know,'" said Lisa.
That’s when she started to get suspicious and tried to ask more questions.
"I reached back to the girl that originally connected me with her on TikTok and I said ‘hey, I don’t know what’s going on, but this just doesn’t seem real,’ and they blocked me," said Lisa. Both on social media and at the phone number.
I reached out to the Detroit Lions PR team who told me the picture the fraudster sent is one of a former Lions employee.
But they say that former employee was not messaging Lisa — no one knows who really was.
With all the hype around this upcoming season, the Detroit Lions tells us if anyone gets contacted by someone claiming to be with the Detroit Lions, they can call this phone number to verify: (313) 262-2000.
"After reading all the messages ... I think it could have been so much more," she said.
At one point, Lisa even offered to pay this fraudster money and they declined.
So what were they after? We may never know.
As far as her number one Lions fan, Easton, his golden birthday is coming up on October 10, and Lisa still hopes to make it extra special for him.
"We just wanted him to comment on the video saying 'happy birthday,'" said Lisa.
If you want to reach out to Lisa, you can contact her at Lisabarnes838@yahoo.com.
