Two Laguna Beach families were the recent targets of a “virtual kidnapping” scam in which they were told one of their children had been abducted and would be killed unless they paid a ransom, police said.
As implausible as the scenario may seem on its face, Laguna Beach police said in one of the two instances it worked with a parent sending the culprit thousands of dollars. But police warned that such scams were not new and that they had been successful before.“This type of activity is called ‘virtual kidnapping’ and we believe the suspect was able to learn personal information of the victim through unsecured social media sites ,” Laguna Beach police said in a prepared statement.
The suspect said he had kidnapped the victims’ daughter — a girl could be heard screaming in the background — and that if the parent did not drive to a specific location in Costa Mesa and wire $5,000 to an account in Mexico, their child would die, police said., police said. The caller tries to keep the person on the phone and have the money wired as quickly as possible before the individual confirms through other means that the child is fine.
Scammers typically target families living in affluent communities who may have quick access to large sums of cash, experts say. Virtual kidnappers also hit families in Laguna Beach in May andIf someone ever does call you claiming to have kidnapped your child, here are a few clues that may indicate it’s a scam, police said:The call doesn’t come from the victim’s phone.The caller demands the money be sent to Mexico via wire transfer; the amount of the ransom drops rapidly to encourage payment.
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