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  Geebo 8:00 am on March 27, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: extortion ( 9 ), Scams ( 1,223 ), virtual kidnapping   

  Recent news has increased this one scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  We have no doubt that you know about the recent story of the four Americans who were mistakenly kidnapped in Mexico, with two of the victims dying in the attack. Since scammers always seem to have their fingers on the pulse of the news, this story has led to a resurgence in the virtual kidnapping scam.

  Virtual kidnapping is a phone scam where scammers pretend to have kidnapped a loved one and demand a ransom. They use high-pressure tactics and psychological manipulation to make the victim believe their loved one is in danger.

  One of the more common versions of the virtual kidnapping scam is when the scammers claim to be from a drug cartel. The scammers will say that the victim’s loved one came across something they weren’t supposed to see, and now they’re being held for ransom.

  Typically, the scammers will demand that the victim wires money or pays via cryptocurrency to secure the safe release of their loved one.

  Kidnapping scammers employ a number of tricks to make their claims seem more legitimate. They often spoof the phone number of the victim’s loved one to make the call look like it’s coming from the loved one’s phone. They may use background noise or even play pre-recorded sounds of someone screaming or crying to make the victim believe that their loved one is in danger. More recently, some scammers have even used AI-generated clones of the loved one’s voice.

  It’s important to note that in most cases, the victim’s loved one is not actually in danger and is not being held captive. However, the scammers can use psychological manipulation to convince the victim otherwise and extort money from them.

  If you receive a call from someone claiming to have kidnapped a loved one, it’s important to remain calm and verify the situation before taking any action. Try to get in touch with the supposed victim directly, or reach out to other family members to confirm their safety. You should also report the incident to the police immediately.

   

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  Geebo 8:00 am on March 16, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: AI voice ( 9 ), extortion ( 9 ), Scams ( 1,223 ), virtual kidnapping, voice cloning ( 23 )   

  AI voice used in kidnapping scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Just over a week ago, we posted about scammers using AI technology to clone a victim’s loved one’s voice for a grandparent scam. It seems that this technique of scammers cloning voices isn’t going away anytime soon. Just recently, AI voice cloning was used in a virtual kidnapping scam in Oklahoma, where the victim lost $3000 to a scammer.

  Virtual kidnapping is a type of scam where a person receives a call or message claiming that their loved one has been kidnapped and demanding a ransom payment for their release. However, in most cases, the supposed victim is actually safe and not in any danger.

  Previously, in most virtual kidnapping scams, the scammers would do almost all of the talking, but they would have someone else in the background crying and screaming, who they claimed was the kidnap victim.

  In this most recent scam, the scam victim thought she was talking to her son and even said that the person on the phone sounded just like her son.

  It started like most virtual kidnapping scams do. The victim received a phone call from an unknown caller who told the woman they had kidnapped her adult son. The caller insinuated that the woman’s son interrupted a drug deal that cost the caller a lot of money. So, if the woman didn’t pay the money that was supposedly lost, they were going to harm her son. Typically, when the victim asks to speak to their loved one, the scammers will make excuses. However, this time, the victim spoke with someone who sounded just like her son.

  Panicked, the woman went to Walmart to wire $3000 to someone in Mexico. The scammer kept her on the phone the entire time. After making the payment, the impostor got back on the phone to say that the kidnappers were letting him go. The scammer’s told her they would drop her son off at that Walmart, but he never appeared. Finally, she was able to get a hold of her son on the phone, who had been at work the entire time.

  The virtual kidnapping scam has been using fear to get victims to pay a phony ransom for years. But now, with the voice cloning technology, the scammers have stepped up the fear to another level. The scammers only need about a minute of your loved one’s voice to be able to clone it. They usually take the voice from recordings that can be found on social media.

  But even if it sounds like a loved one on the phone, the same old precautions should be used. If you receive a call like this, try to have someone contact the person who’s supposedly been kidnapped. When they put your loved one on the phone, ask them a question that only they would know the answer to. Or have a family code word set up in advance that’s only to be used if the loved one is in danger.

   
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  Geebo 9:00 am on December 7, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: kidnapping ( 8 ), Scams ( 1,223 ), schools ( 3 ), social media ( 73 ), virtual kidnapping   

  Scammers: “How much are your children worth?” 

  

  By Greg Collier

  We’ve been posting about the virtual kidnapping scam for a few years now. If you’re unfamiliar with this particular scam, this is where scammers claim to have kidnapped a loved one and demand a ransom. However, the scammers are bluffing, and are hoping you’ll panic enough that you’ll pay them. Within the past few months, a new and disturbing version of this scam has emerged. Instead of the scammers claiming they’ve kidnapped your spouse or parent, they’re now claiming they’ve kidnapped your child.

  We first saw reports of this scam coming out of the Northeast. It wasn’t long before the scam spread to the Southwest. More recently, it has found its way to California, making this a coast-to-coast scam. That means there’s nothing stopping it from showing up in any community.

  Police in Nevada County, California, have received multiple calls from parents of school age children. The parents have said they received phone calls from people who claimed to have kidnapped their children. According to police, the scammers weren’t able to provide any identifying information about the children they supposedly kidnapped. So, it seems like they were unsuccessful this time. That’s not always the case, though.

  In previous scam attempts, scammers were able to identify the children by name. More than likely, these scammers obtained information on the children through social media. Scammers even spoofed the child’s phone number to make it look like the call came from the child’s phone.

  Authorities in California has recommended to parents they should install a tracking/GPS app on their child’s phone. This way, if the parent receives one of these ransom calls, they can tell where their child is at that time. In most of the previous cases, the children were safe at school.

  If you’re a parent of school age children, you may not be able to avoid scam calls like this. However, you can take steps to prevent yourself from being scammed. If you receive one of these calls, try not to panic, and call your child’s school to make sure they are still there. Also, try to limit what information is shared about your child on social media. That includes talking to your children to let them know what information is ok to share and what isn’t.

   
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  Geebo 9:00 am on November 11, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: kidnapping ( 8 ), Santa Fe, Scams ( 1,223 ), schools ( 3 ), social media ( 73 ), virtual kidnapping   

  Child kidnapping scam spreads across country 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Last month, we discussed a scam that was targeting the families of public school children in the city of Boston. In this scam, the scammers would call the parents of school children and tell the parents that their child had been kidnapped. The children were even referred to by name in these phone calls, making the scam seem legitimate as possible.

  This is known as the virtual kidnapping scam. The reason it’s called virtual is that the scammers really haven’t kidnapped anybody. They’re just hoping they can convince their target that the kidnapping is real. Previously, scammers have claimed to have kidnapped parents, spouses, or adult children, but now they’ve branched out into claiming to have kidnapped school kids.

  What started out recently in Boston, has started to spread to other parts of the country. For example, a mother from Rhode Island received a call saying that her son had been abducted from a local drug store. She was told that her son had been taken by drug dealers from the store’s parking lot. Ransom was demanded from the women for the safe return of her child. Thankfully, local police were able to find her son was still at school, unaware of anything that had happened.

  Granted, Rhode Island isn’t that far from Boston, so some may think that the scam is localized. However, there have now been reports of the scam taking place in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Not exactly the Boston suburbs. In the case of Santa Fe, the scammers are particularly targeting the parents of children who attend Catholic schools in the area. As in the Boston scams, the actual names of the school children are being used in the scam.

  The thought of their child being abducted is the greatest fear of most parents. A phone call like this could put them in a state of panic they’ve never known before, so it’s easy to understand why they would think the kidnapping was real.

  The best way for parents to protect themselves from this scam is to know about the scam in the first place, so they know how to react if it happens. If you get a call like this, the first thing you should do is to try to contact the police on another line. You may want to also consider discussing this scam with your children and establishing a code word that only you and your children would know.

  It’s believed that the scammers get information about the children from public posts on social media. While we’re all proud of our children and want to share their accomplishments, you may want to limit social media activity about your kids to close friends and family, and make sure the posts can’t be reshared. And as always, consider having a discussion with your children about what information is and isn’t ok to share on social media.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on October 17, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Boston ( 3 ), kidnapping ( 8 ), Scams ( 1,223 ), social media ( 73 ), virtual kidnapping   

  Kidnapping scam targets school children 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Lately, when we discuss the virtual kidnapping scam, we ask if you think you could remain calm if it happened to you. If you’re unfamiliar with the virtual kidnapping scam, it’s where scammers will call a victim and tell them they’ve kidnapped one of their loved ones. This is always done to try and wrangle some kind of ransom payment out of the victim. The payments are typically demanded in largely untraceable ways. For example, phony ransoms have been demanded in gift cards, money transfers, and cryptocurrency just to name a few.

  The scam is designed to induce the victim into an emotional state of panic. Often the scammers will have someone in the background of the phone call acting like the supposed kidnap victim with screaming and cries for help. However, the loved one of the scam victim is actually safe and going about their day as normal, unaware they’re being used as a pawn in a scam.

  Typically, these scams claim they’ve kidnapped, spouses, older parents, and adult children. Now, it appears that the scammers are using school children in their schemes.

  Police in Boston have reported that there have been multiple instances of calls to the parents of school children who are told their child has been kidnapped. Every parent’s fear is the fear of their child disappearing at the hands of a bad actor. In these Boston area calls, the children have even been referred to by name. Even though kidnappings for ransom are rare in the United States, all kinds of logic can go straight out the window when someone thinks their child is in danger.

  While it sounds easier than done, try to remain calm if you receive one of these phone calls. Boston police recommend hanging up immediately and contacting police. It’s also recommended that you limit the information you share about your children on social media. While we all want to be proud parents, you may want to limit the scope of your social media posts to real life friends and family, and also make sure the posts can’t be shared by anyone else. Lastly, talk to your kids about what’s appropriate for them to share with their friends on social media, and explain to them how sharing too much could put them at risk.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on September 26, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Cash App ( 41 ), phone scam ( 45 ), ransom ( 4 ), Scams ( 1,223 ), virtual kidnapping   

  Would you fall for this convincing scam? 

  

  By Greg Collier

  A lot of like to think we’re scam-proof, that it’s impossible for scammers to pull one over on us. For example, I received a robocall the other day that said they were calling from Amazon and there had been a $1499.00 charge on my account. I hung up because I knew it was a scam. But just to be certain, I checked my Amazon account and credit card I use for Amazon purchases. Both had no record of any such transaction. Now, that’s a low-pressure scam if you know what to look for. But what if the pressure was intense and immediate. Would you be able to remain calm?

  We’ve discussed the virtual kidnapping scam, or ransom scam, before. This is when scammers call a victim to tell them that they’ve kidnapped a loved one and demand money. In reality, the scammers don’t actually have your loved one hostage. However, even if you might be familiar with the scam, scammers can make it so convincing that in the heat of the moment, you may question yourself.

  A man in Ohio recently received one of these calls. The number that came up on his phone belonged to his mother from Florida. After he picked up the phone, the man heard a male voice with a female voice screaming in the background. The caller stated he carjacked the man’s mother and would harm her if the man didn’t pay the caller. The way that we’ve phrased it, makes it sound so clinical. However, the language the caller used made it seem real. Here are some quotes from the conversation that the man recorded.

  Caller: “Man, guess what? I’m going to start beating your mom, I’m going to start beating her right now.”

  Caller: “If I see the police, I’m going to k*** myself too, but I’m going to take her (expletive) out.

  Caller: “Bro, I’m going to tell you one more time. She ain’t going to be all right if you don’t hurry the (expletive) up.”

  There were other explicit threats of violence as well that we’re leaving out for the sake of civility.

  The caller was demanding payment through Cash App and PayPal. Luckily, the man had trouble remembering his PayPal password. While he was trying to reset the password, he had his wife call his brother on her phone, since his brother lives near his mother. When he got word that his mother was in no danger, he hung up on the scammer. The man even admitted that he panicked and had no idea what to do, even though he made the correct action.

  Scammers will either find us at our weakest or try to put us in that state of mind. Can any of us say we wouldn’t be panicked if we were in this man’s shoes? This is just one of the many reasons we shouldn’t belittle scam victims. There are so many scams out in the wild that any one of us could fall victim to them if the right circumstances emerge. Instead, we should be thanking scam victims who come forward for making us aware of these scams.

  Again, what the man did in this instance was the right thing to do. If you ever receive a phone call like this, try to use a second form of communication to contact the person the caller has claimed to have kidnapped. Kidnapping for ransom is rare in the United States, but you still want to make sure your loved one is safe. Also, don’t be afraid to call the police, as they can be of great assistance in these matters.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on April 6, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: FBI ( 18 ), Scams ( 1,223 ), virtual kidnapping, voice cloning ( 23 )   

  FBI: Voice cloning used in kidnapping scams 

  

  By Greg Collier

  You receive a phone call where the caller says they’ve kidnapped one of your loved ones. You ask to speak to them, and the voice on the phone sounds exactly like them. But it’s not actually your loved one. Instead, it’s a scammer who’s using a technology to mimic your loved one’s voice. It sounds like something that could only happen in a movie. However, not only is it possible, the FBI is saying that it’s happening now.

  Voice cloning technology is typically used by people who can no longer speak on their own due to medical reasons. The FBI has issued a warning that scammers are using the technology in virtual kidnapping scams. In the virtual kidnapping scam, scammers will call their victim claiming they’ve kidnapped one of the victim’s loved ones and is holding them for ransom. The supposed kidnap victim is almost always safe and unaware, but the scam victim doesn’t know that at the time. On the more low tech side, the scammers will have someone screaming in the background to make it seem like the victim’s loved one is being abused. But now, the FBI is saying that scammers are using the expensive voice cloning technology to mimic the voice of the victim’s loved one.

  Scammers can get just about anyone’s voice by calling them and engaging them for a few minutes. Once the scammers have enough of that person’s voice recorded, they can use it to imitate that person’s voice almost perfectly. This tactic can go a long way in convincing a victim that the kidnapping is real.

  To better protect your loved ones against such scams, it’s recommended that you set up a code word to ensure that they’re talking to the person they say they are. If you receive a call that you suspect may be a cloned voice, you can always ask the caller a question that only they would know. And as always, if you can, contact someone else in your family to make sure that the person who’s been supposedly kidnapped, is safe and sound.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on March 16, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: cartel scam ( 4 ), FBI ( 18 ), Scams ( 1,223 ), Spring Break, traveling ( 12 ), virtual kidnapping   

  Spring break is the season of kidnapping scams 

  

  By Greg Collier

  It’s getting to be that time of year when college students from around the country descend on locales with warmer climates. Of course, I’m talking about Spring Break. While the US has many beach hotspots students can enjoy, many will choose to go outside the country to try to maximize their Spring Break experience. Whether it’s the Caribbean, Central America, or overseas, Spring Breakers should be relatively safe as long as they don’t stray from the tourist areas. However, scammers are hoping that the parents of Spring Breakers are not so sure about the safety of their college-aged children.

  The FBI is advising they see an increase in the virtual kidnapping scam during Spring Break since so many students are traversing in and out of the country. As you may have heard, in the virtual kidnapping scam, scammers will have claimed to have kidnapped a loved one and will demand a ransom. Meanwhile, your loved one is actually safe and has no idea their well-being is being used in a scam. The reason we’re focusing this time on students traveling outside the country is because kidnappings for ransom are quite rare in the United States. That doesn’t mean the scam doesn’t take place in the US. You can read more about those here.

  The FBI is saying that during Spring Break, these scammers will claim to be from a drug cartel or corrupt police department. The scammers will then demand a ransom in some untraceable form, such as gift cards or money transfer. There might even be someone in the background of the phone call screaming, pretending to be the supposed kidnap victim. The scammers will also try to keep you on the phone, so you don’t have a chance to try to contact your loved one. However, that’s precisely what you should do. Try to contact your loved one on another device as quickly as possible. Keep the scammers on the phone by repeating their orders, and tell them you’re writing their instructions down. Don’t volunteer any information to the callers, they can use that against you during the call. In numerous instances, the scammers will use information they’ve taken from social media to make it seem like they have your loved one held hostage.

  The best way to avoid falling victim to this scam is to set up a code word of sorts between you and your kids, who are traveling for Spring Break. This way, you should be able to immediately identify if your children are in actual danger.

   
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  Geebo 9:00 am on January 26, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: California ( 20 ), phone scam ( 45 ), Scams ( 1,223 ), spoofed calls ( 7 ), virtual kidnapping, Zelle ( 62 )   

  Dangerous scam spoofs your family’s phone number 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Virtual kidnapping scams have been in the news more often than usual lately. This leads us to believe there has been an increase in these harrowing incidents. Typically, in a virtual kidnapping scam, the scammers will call you and claim to have a loved one of yours hostage. They’ll then tell you they will release their hostage if you pay a ransom. The ransom is usually asked for in untraceable means like cryptocurrency, money transfer, or gift cards. Since the advent of the virtual kidnapping scam, the scammers have gotten more aggressive when approaching their victims on the phone.

  For example, a woman from the San Francisco Bay Area recently received a virtual kidnapping call that appeared to come from her mother’s phone number. The caller said he was with the woman’s mother and would harm her if a ransom wasn’t paid. The caller demanded $500 to paid through the Zelle app. After she made the first payment, the scammer demanded another payment of $400, which she paid. The scammer ended the call and the woman called her mother, who had been fine the entire time.

  This story shows a couple of disturbing things. While it’s relatively easy to spoof a phone number, this scammer specifically targeted the woman by obtaining her mother’s phone number. That means the scammer had to at least stalked the family’s social media accounts. Secondly, the scammer used the Zelle banking app to collect the ransom. With stories like this, it seems like Zelle is quickly becoming the app of choice for scammers. Zelle has been used by scammers in several other scams as well.

  As we always like to remind our readers, kidnappings for ransom, while not unheard of, are actually rare in the United States. However, when someone receives one of these phone calls, the pressure of the situation may not allow them to think rationally. If you receive one of these phone calls, the first thing you should do is try to contact the person they’ve claimed to have kidnapped. Since the scammer will try to keep you on the phone, try using another method of contacting your loved one such as text or email if another phone line is not available. These scammers will often have an accomplice posing as the hostage. If they let you speak with the person, ask them a question that only they would know. You can also set up a specific code word between you and your loved ones to verify their identity. Lastly, even if your loved one is safe, contact your local police and let them know what happened, especially if you paid money to the scammer through Zelle.

  In the past, people who have been scammed through Zelle did not get their money back. However, experts recommend that filing a police report will help when dealing with your bank.

   
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  Geebo 9:00 am on January 19, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: FBI ( 18 ), Pittsburgh, ransom ( 4 ), Scams ( 1,223 ), virtual kidnapping   

  Kidnapping scam uses your social media against you 

  

  By Greg Collier

  The Pittsburgh Field Office of the FBI has issued a warning about the virtual kidnapping scam. This scam entails scammers calling people and telling them that they’ve kidnapped a loved one. The scammers may put someone on the phone crying and screaming to make it seem like they actually have taken your loved one hostage. A ransom demand is then made where the scammers will ask for payment through money transfer, gift cards, or cryptocurrency. They ask for these types of payments because they’re mostly untraceable. It’s typically not until after the victim sends the scammers money when they find out their loved one was never in any harm.

  The FBI is now reporting an uptick in this scam in the Pittsburgh area. Recently, 450 people have reported receiving these scam calls. However, the scammers are using a new ploy to try to trick their victims. Scammers are now calling the relatives of people who travel to somewhere near the Mexican border. The perpetrators are combing through social media looking for anyone who has recently shared that they’re planning a trip either to or near Mexico. Then the scammers are calling the relatives of the traveler from Mexico and claiming that they’ve kidnapped the victim’s relative.

  The best way to protect yourself and your family from this scam is to not announce your vacation plans ahead of time on social media. Your first instinct may be to share your vacation pictures as they happen, but this could open you up to a number of scams and dangers, including this one. If you receive a call from Mexico and the caller says they’ve kidnapped a relative of yours, the FBI advises getting as much information you can, including the phone number they called from. It’s then recommended you hang up the call and contact the supposed kidnap victim to make sure they’re ok. Then call your local police or the FBI to file a report.