Ransom, International Business and the Obama Administration
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More Tactics and Techniques
The tactics of the more sophisticated criminal groups have become increasingly advanced. For example, in Mexico a group fabricated a competition to give away the Xbox computer gaming system at a stand in a mall. The gambit was to obtain as much personal information about children as possible by entering them in a draw. Relatives would then be contacted once the target enters the cinema or a loud place like a restaurant where they are unlikely to hear the phone. In less advanced cases, the criminals would steal the mobile phone of the victim, making them unreachable before perpetrating the crime.
Hang Up The Phone
It is estimated that Mexico and Venezuela have some of the highest virtual kidnapping rates worldwide while this crime is steadily increasing in Argentina, Colombia and Brazil. In Venezuela, about 80 percent of all abductions are believed to be either virtual or express kidnappings, mostly taking place in Caracas or urban areas of Miranda state. A recent OSAC survey of its constituents in Mexico showed that 55 percent of respondents were victimized by virtual kidnapping and extortion in 2014, compared to 2012 when the percentage was significantly lower at 29 percent. As long as the problem of organized crime persists throughout the region, the practice of virtual kidnappings is not only unlikely to cease but set to increase, resulting in the need for higher awareness to avoid falling prey to these scams.
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