Ibiza virtual kidnapping scam uncovered, three arrested in Zaragoza

A virtual kidnapping whose happy ending is linked to the payment of a ransom. This is the modus operandi used by three individuals to swindle 11,000 euros from a family in Ibiza by means of a so-called virtual kidnapping, although they were finally arrested last April in Zaragoza. Agents from the Economic Crime Group of the Aragon Police Headquarters made the arrests between 12 and 29 April and, at the same time, they are investigating around twenty complaints in the Aragonese capital for the same scams worth between 1,000 and 8,000 euros. The modus operandi is always the same: convincing the victim that the kidnapping has actually taken place by sending SMS or calls with voices such as “mum, I need your help”.

For this they use threats, pressures and even go so far as to put the supposed kidnapped person on the phone so that, between moans, he demands the payment of the money to avoid being harmed. But it is all a lie. The supposed kidnapped person speaks little and very altered in order to make it difficult for the victim to recognize the voice, since in reality it is a recording or a collaborator of the swindlers.

The call under threats is not prolonged for quite a long time with two objectives: to prevent the victim from corroborating the veracity of the information and on the other hand to get him to make a quick payment. To do this, the scammer instructs the victim to transfer the money or have it sent through money transfer companies. This scam goes back many years and has its origin in Chile, specifically from prisons in the country, according to investigators. Since 2015, when they emerged, agents of the National Police have been investigating them jointly with Chilean security forces.

Already at the time, the National Police sent a decalogue of advice for these calls. In order, they advise to remain calm; not to forget that in Spain kidnappings are infrequent; to save time; do not give a single personal data to the interlocutor; do not say where you are; do not give the name of your bank; try to hang up with an excuse such as, for example, loss of coverage or running out of battery; take the opportunity to confirm that the relative is well; do not be afraid to hang up, if it is real, the criminals will call again, and always call the police even if it has been an attempt.

In 2017 there were hardly any of these calls, thanks to the operation carried out from the Superior Police Headquarters of Aragon that investigated the matter by the hand of the magistrate of the Juzgado de Instrucción number 7 of Zaragoza, Rafael Lasala. Despite the success of the police operation, the magistrate of the National Court Carmen Rodríguez-Médel decided to decree the provisional dismissal of the case in which several Aragonese were affected.