Virtual Kidnappings

Fake abductions staged to extort ransoms.

Virtual kidnapping is increasingly prevalent in Mexico, where actual abductions are a fact of life. According to CBS, in the four months since Mexico City set up a dedicated hotline in December 2007, more than 44,000 calls relating to virtual extortion were received: 22,851 extortion attempts were avoided and 1,627 people said that they had paid “virtual” kidnappers.

“The extortionists usually call a random phone number and put a screaming child or an adult pretending to be a child on the line. The victim may mistakenly think that it’s their own child and sometimes even reveals the name himself by calling it. A man then gets on the line and makes a list of demands.”

The New York Times noted that many of these calls originate from Mexican jails, and advised potential victims to demand to speak to their abducted relative. That said, the report conceded, “upon being told that their child’s throat is about to be slit, many parents just reach for their wallets.”