Criminals prey on families in kidnapping ruse
September 21st, 2008 @ 10:15am
by Associated Press

The families of some illegal immigrants passing through Arizona are getting ransom demands from criminals.

The criminals tell them they've kidnapped their loved ones as they were sneaking into the country.

But what isn't immediately clear to these families is that they are targets of ``virtual kidnapping.''

It's an extortion scam from Latin America in which people are tricked into thinking relatives have been abducted when in fact they haven't.

The trend first appeared in Arizona five years ago and has escalated to an average of one case being reported each week.

The scammers strike as illegal immigrants make the three- to four-day journey past the border and through the desert, where they are likely incommunicado because of the remote location.
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