Cybercriminals called a woman from an unknown, local number, claiming to have kidnapped her daughter. Actually, the call was part of a scam – a "virtual kidnapping."

The criminals somehow mimicked the daughter's voice, and even allowed the mother to "speak" briefly to "her", according to law enforcement officials, who stated that new AI applications are being used to create virtual kidnapping scams.

Consistent with actual kidnappings, the criminals told the mother they would harm the daughter if she did not send money. The mother sent all she had - $600 – but the criminals demanded more and told the mother to go get a $5,000 loan.

The credit union employee knew something was not right when the mother described the call and the threat to her daughter, so the employee called the police.

The Pasco, Washington police knew immediately it was a scam virtual kidnapping. While the mother stayed on the phone with the cybercriminals, the police went to the mother's home address where they found the daughter, alone, safe, and unaware of what had been happening to her mother.

Cameron Probert "Bank employee realizes something's wrong and foils high-tech Tri-Cities kidnap scam" https://www.aol.com/bank-employee-realizes-something-wrong-120000240.html (Aug. 01, 2024).

Commentary and Checklist

According to the FBI, on average, extorted families send thousands of dollars to scammers before contacting law enforcement. The FBI doesn't keep a separate record for "virtual kidnappings", but states that most virtual kidnappings for ransom are unreported.

However, the Bureau has noticed a rise in monies lost and reports of "extortion", especially with advancements in AI. https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2020_IC3Report.pdf

Here are ways to detect a virtual kidnapping scheme, according to the FBI:

• "The calls don't come from the kidnapped person's phone.
• The callers go to great lengths to keep their target on the phone.
• The scam artists are usually not able to answer simple questions about the person they claim to have kidnapped, such as what they look like.
• The ransom money is only accepted through a wire service."