Recently, the U.S. Department of State issued a travel advisory to U.S. citizens about the risk oftraveling to certain parts of Mexico due to the activities ofcriminal organizations in those areas.

According to the warning, in various Mexican states, U.S.citizens have been the victims of violent crimes includinghomicide, carjacking, robbery and kidnapping, along with arelatively new crime wave involving “virtual kidnapping.”

Related: Virtual kidnapping: What you need toknow

Virtual kidnapping is an extortion-by-deception scheme in which a callcomes in from a stranger, claiming a loved one has been taken andwill be harmed, or worse, unless the caller's instructions arefollowed exactly and a ransom is paid.

Perpetrators use personal information available publicly, suchas names, numbers, school or work affiliations and sometimeswhereabouts, through social media or Internet searches, to trickvictims into believing that an actual kidnapping has occurred.

Using these personal details, they make a kidnapping scenariosound plausible and insist that the victim remain on the phone withthem until after making payment. What makes such crimes easier tocommit is if victims are unable or reluctant to contact the personclaimed to be held, out of fear that the caller will harm thesupposedly 'captive' family member.

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Trending upward

Although virtual kidnapping schemes have been around for manyyears, their numbers are on the rise, and the criminals' tacticsare becoming more sophisticated.

According to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, the trendin virtual kidnapping began years ago in Mexico when criminalsnoted names and phone numbers on tourists' luggage tags. Realizingthat tourists boarding buses would spend several hours in areaswhere cell phone service was spotty or nonexistent, the criminalsbegan trying to extort ransoms from the tourists' family membersbefore their families could contact them. Success emboldened theperpetrators to make more attempts.

Related: 8 steps to negotiate kidnap & ransomdemands

More innovative attempts

And, as the State Department warns, hotel guests have beentargets of such virtual kidnapping schemes in Mexico. But, virtual kidnapping is not confined to Mexico; it'sa worldwide phenomenon.

The FBI has warned that virtual kidnapping is on the rise, withrecent cases reported in New York, California, Virginia and otherstates.

Recently, female Chinese exchange students in Canada wereaggressively targeted. They were initially contacted through anautomated phone message that urges them to call Chinese officialsafter being told their personal information had been compromisedand they are now connected to crimes in China. The suspects,who claim they are Chinese government officials, then coerce thevictims into a series of actions and if they don't comply, they'retold their families back in China will be hurt. Simultaneously, thevictims' parents are contacted and convinced their family membersare being held against their will and another demand for money ismade.

One of the reasons that virtual kidnapping is becoming morefrequent is that it costs almost nothing to perpetrate, can beattempted against anyone and usually tries to extort payments thata majority of people can afford. In recent cases, the FBI has notedextortion demands ranging from $600 to $1,900, though in some casesin Maryland and Virginia, victims were asked to wire $10,000 ormore.

Related: The Chalkboard: A look at kidnap and ransominsurance

Quickly playing on fears

Virtual kidnapping is effective because it plays to mostpeople's worst fears. Its success also depends on speed. Thesecriminals know they only have a short time to exact a ransom payment before the victims andtheir families unravel the scam or call authorities.

Among the characteristics that typically signify virtualkidnapping, callers:

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        • Use an outside area code.
        • Do not use the phone of the person they claim to hold.
        • Prolong the call as much as possible.
        • Prevent calling or locating the person held captive.
        • Insist on ransom payments via wire transfer.

The FBI and private-sector security advisors recommend thatvictims who suspect virtual kidnapping:

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        • Resist the urge to act in haste. Perpetrators rely on extortingransom as quickly as possible, before victims can uncover theruse.
        • Attempt to contact the captives. Use the person's mobile numberor social media, if applicable.
        • Ask callers about something only their claimed captive wouldknow.
        • Do not send money via wire from a phone or e-mail request,especially internationally.

Kidnap, ransom and extortion (KRE) insurance responds to casesinvolving virtual or actual kidnapping, reimbursing the victim forransom paid and lost. Although the kidnapping may be virtual,the risks of such extortion and the potential loss of ransompayments are quite real.

Denise Balan is senior vice president and head of XLCatlin's Kidnap, Ransom & Extortion practice in North America.She can be reached at [email protected].

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