Everett police and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office are warning the public about a “virtual kidnapping” scam that usually starts with a frantic call telling you someone you know has been kidnapped.
The caller tells the victim they have kidnapped their child or another relative, and demand ransom money. The sounds of a person screaming can be heard in the background.
“This is a particularly frightening scam for victims,” Sheriff Ty Trenary said. “We are extremely concerned that this scam, which has been reported previously in other parts of the country, has now hit Snohomish County.”
Everett police are investigating such a call that a 65-year-old Everett man received March 5 at 12:30 p.m. The caller told the victim that his 23-year-old daughter had been kidnapped and demanded $30,000 in ransom. The male caller said if the victim didn’t pay, his daughter would be “left on the side of a road with a bullet hole in her.”
The victim told police he could hear the sounds of a woman crying in the background, which he believed to be his daughter, police spokesman Aaron Snell said. An Everett officer responded to the victim’s residence and, while on scene, the suspect called again, this time demanding $500. The victim’s daughter was located in Marysville and was unaware of the kidnapping claim and extortion scheme.
Coincidentally, a day earlier The Marysville Globe became aware of the term “virtual kidnapping” when a reporter spoke with a Redmond man who was caught off guard by callers he considered realistic and frightening because it involved his 5-year-old daughter who was purportedly in danger. The callers contacted him using a child’s voice that sounded like his daughter, and they had information about his neighborhood that made the scam seem all the more authentic.
According to the FBI, the kidnappers use social media to learn about their victims—where they live, places they commonly visit and connected friends—and claim they’re holding their cell phone, saying if you try to contact your loved one, you’re jeopardizing their life. The only way you’ll get back your loved one is if you pay up.
While investigating the Everett incident, police discovered similar calls around the county. Deputies have responded to at least four similar calls, one as recently as March 8, sheriff’s spokeswoman Sharie Ireton said. All victims were able to confirm that their family members were safe and hung up on the scammers.
The calls made to victims in Snohomish County came from numbers with 525 and 528 area codes, or from another Mexico area code. The FBI warned the public of similar extortion calls in other parts of the U.S. last summer.
If you are a victim of this scam, write down the phone number of the caller, then hang up the phone. If you cannot immediately verify the whereabouts and/or safety of family members the suspects have claimed to have kidnapped, call 9-1-1.
According to the FBI, criminal prosecution of these organizations is unlikely because the cell numbers are often untraceable since they are blocked or private. The scammers also change phone numbers frequently. The FBI is focused on preventing these extortion scams but concede that even if it was able to stop one criminal group, it would quickly be replaced by others.
