- By Shibra Arshad
- Tue, 09 Dec 2025 06:57 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The American Law Enforcement Agency (FBI) has alerted passengers travelling to America about a growing scam of virtual kidnapping for ransom.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a public warning about a surge in virtual kidnapping for ransom scams. In these scams, criminals use a proof-of-life media to extort money from the kin of the supposed victim.
Issuing a statement, the FBI said, "These sophisticated criminal actors are exploiting photos and videos—often found on social media or other public sites—to create seemingly real images of victims to accompany ransom demands, successfully amplifying the sense of panic and urgency.”
According to information provided by the FBI, criminals follow a similar pattern to traditional kidnapping. First, they call the victim, claiming to have kidnapped their loved ones, demanding instant ransom, usually in cryptocurrency or gift cards. To make the threat feel real, they threaten immediate violence if the money isn’t paid quickly.
The trick that convinces most victims is fake “proof of life”: a photo or short video that appears to show the loved one in distress. In reality, these images are stolen from social media or created using AI, and in reality, the person is often safe, and no kidnapping happens.
Tips To Protect Yourself
- First and foremost, one should avoid providing personal information to strangers while travelling.
- People are suggested to establish a code word that only you or your loved ones know that you can use to communicate to establish the authenticity of the incident.
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- Scammers portray a false sense of urgency. Stop and think; do the kidnapper’s claims make sense?
