OSC Guardian - Safety Advice

OSC GUARDIAN - SAFETY ADVICE
www.OramSecurity.com

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The Real Price of Virtual Kidnappings

Very interesting article.  Well written and will open your eyes to a different type of crime you may fall pray to when traveling.

By Matthew Harwood
A man travels to Mexico on business. During his trip, his wife receives a call from her husband’s cell phone. Upon answering, she hears screaming. Then the voice of a stranger comes onto the phone, saying the screams were those of her husband, whom he has kidnapped. He demands a money transfer of $1,000 within five hours, adding that if he doesn’t get the payment, he will kill her husband. A few expletives are thrown in for emphasis.
The wife is terrified. She calls her husband’s cell phone, and the same man answers. Convinced he has her husband, she complies with his demands and sends $1,000 through Western Union.
Hours later the husband calls and tells her what actually happened. His cell phone was stolen earlier that day.
The wife in this scenario has just been the victim of the crime of “virtual kidnapping,” where criminals leverage a stolen cell phone or stolen personal information to scare a quick ransom payment out of a company or a family without ever abducting anyone.

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