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What to do
in the event of a virtual kidnapping
Advice from FCC’s Corporate Security Department
The Corporate Security Department and
General Services of FCC have prepared a
document providing information on what
to do in the event that you are a victim of
a virtual extortion and kidnapping scam.
The manual, drafted with information from
the Civil Guard’s Kidnapping and Extortion
Team, was published because of the increa-
se in this type of threat.
Even though in Spain, unlike other coun-
tries, the incidence of virtual kidnappings
is still rare, there have been recent cases in
our country. This is why FCC’s Corporate
Security Department and General Services
What to do
if a scammer
calls you?
●
Do not provide any personal infor-
mation until confirming that the call
is safe.
●
Ask for precise data on the identity
of the victim in order to dismiss the
possibility of an actual kidnapping.
●
Before becoming alarmed, think of
where your loved ones are.
●
Write down the number of the caller
and hang up as soon as possible.
●
Call the police to report the attemp-
ted scam.
decided to prepare this document to keep
all employees informed.
Virtual kidnapping is a type of extortion by
phone in which a kidnapping is simulated in
order to ask for money, mostly by transfer or
cash in an envelope, an option that poses a
greater risk.
The extortionists take advantage of situa-
tions where the alleged victims are not rea-
chable in places such as cinemas or on an
airplane to make their families believe that
they have been kidnapped.
The modus operandi of this scam usually
follows the same pattern. The scammers
obtain personal information on the victims
mainly in social networks then take advan-
tage of situations when they do not have
access to their cell phones or are unable to
contact their families to begin the extortion.
They convince the family of the alleged vic-
tim that the kidnapping is for real and then
ask for ransom. At the moment when one
agrees to the extortion is when the real dan-
ger begins since, not only does it contribute
to perpetuating the crime but also poses the
real risk of being kidnapped.