Robbery Homicide Division Cautions Community to be Aware of Virtual Kidnapping Scam NR25088kt

Los Angeles: The Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division, Robbery Special Section, has noticed a growing trend of “virtual” kidnapping scams targeting our Hispanic community. When carrying out these scams, the suspect(s) claim to have a loved one held captive and extort money from the victim for a “safe” release of that loved one, when in fact no kidnapping has occurred.

Typically, the victim will receive a phone call or a text message on a private messaging app. The suspect(s), who speak Spanish, claim to have a loved one held captive and provide various reasons, such as money was owed to the cartel for lost narcotics, involved in a traffic collision they caused, etc.

The suspect(s) demand that money be sent or delivered to a specific location in exchange for the release of the victim’s loved one. In most cases, the victim is told they are being surveilled and to remain on the phone until the money is paid and warned not to call the police or answer any incoming calls.

In some instances, the suspect(s) contact two family members (such as a husband and wife or a parent and child) at the same time, orchestrating a simultaneous scam that makes each person believe the other has been kidnapped.

The following are recommendations for community members:

• Beware of answering incoming calls from unknown phone numbers, especially with prefix numbers originating from Mexico (+52) and in some cases local area codes.

• Beware of responding to text messages from unknown numbers on private messaging apps.

• Beware of using social media platforms to enlist the communities help in finding a missing loved one. The suspect(s) take this as an opportunity to contact the user and attempt to extort money using any of the above scenario(s).

• If you answer a call with any of the above scenarios, hang up and call or go to your local police agency for assistance.

For more information contact Robbery Homicide Division’s Robbery Special Section at 213-486-6840