Kidnapping: What You Should Know As a Foreigner Abroad

Kidnapping should be a concern to foreigners abroad. For example, in Colombia the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) is a narco-terrorist group responsible for kidnappings of hundreds foreigners.

Expats and tourists abroad are often targeted because criminals believe they have access to large amounts of funds. The criminals know that some families will easily pay large ransoms and rarely contacts the police.

Did you know that there are various forms of kidnappings?

Kidnappings for Ransom - Criminals kidnap a victim and contact his/her family to extort money. Kidnappers often threaten to kill or harm the victim if the family either does not pay or contact law enforcement authorities.

Quick Nappings - This is when criminals kidnap a victim and force him/her to drive to an ATM and withdraw all their money. Afterwards the criminals steal the victim’s money and quickly release them.

Virtual Kidnapping - Criminals covertly conduct surveillance on person and note specific details such as their name, date of birth, home telephone number, and the type of car they drive. When the person leaves home, the criminal calls their house and states that he has just kidnapped the person. The criminal proceeds to describe the victim, their car, and other information about them, fooling the family member or friend on the phone into believing that they actual have kidnapped the person. The criminal then demands that the person on the phone wire money to an account or leave money at a predetermined location. All this occurs before the caller ever learns that their loved one is actually not in any danger.

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