A NEW TYPE OF CRIME
Kidnapping Goes Virtual
ONE OF THE MORE TROUBLING – and increasingly common – crimes on the FBI's radar puts a new, technological twist on kidnapping for ransom. In this 21st century version called “virtual kidnapping,” however, no one ever gets 'napped at all.
“It's an extortion-by-deception scheme,” explains Daniel Gartland, a special agent on the Milwaukee FBI crisis negotiation team. “It's very similar to an actual kidnapping, they just don't actually have physical control of the person.”
The purported victim of the kidnapping is usually living in a foreign country or traveling there, but their family members – who are the real targets – are here in the U.S., Gartland says. The kidnappers then break communication between the two by convincing the purported victim to physically isolate themselves by telling lies such as “you've won the lottery and you need to come to this place to collect, but phones aren't allowed.” Threats of law enforcement action or violence are other ways to get the victim to take the big (and necessary) step of going somewhere alone, unable to communicate with anyone. Phones being left behind is key, because if the concerned family can talk to the loved one, they would know they're safe and the ruse would be up.
Once the fake kidnappers know that line of communication is severed, they tell the family that their loved one has been taken, making threats of violence and demanding ransom and hurrying to close the deal. “They want to get money quickly because they know eventually this is going to get figured out,” says Gartland. “The ones I've been involved in, I think three days is the longest, [or the scam may run] as short as half a day.”
The fake kidnappers target their victims – often Mexican immigrants, Gartland says – by first learning they're separated from family either through word of mouth or social media, “and when they know the family is in the U.S., that's dollar signs to them.”
While he couldn't provide specific numbers on virtual kidnappings, Gartland says “we've seen an increase just here in the Wisconsin area, a significant increase.”
And, he adds, it's a crime that is “grossly underreported” because no one wants to admit they've been scammed and if the victim's family has members who aren't citizens, they'd likely be reluctant to call law enforcement for help.
“Once the victim comes out of the isolation, they say, ‘Well, no, grandma, I'm fine.' And then grandma says, ‘But I gave them $10,000.' There's probably a lot of embarrassment there.”
Gartland says the FBI handles every virtual kidnapping as a real abduction until investigation shows otherwise. “Our goal is to intervene before any money is sent because once it's sent, chances of it coming back are pretty slim,” he says.
The best protection, he adds, is to be aware that this kind of scam happens and is happening more.
“If they can't get the victim or they can't get the family, they're just going to move on because it's all about making money for them.”