Virtual Kidnapping

There's a high rise of reported "virtual kidnapping" in metropolitan area of Buenos Aires. Victims or their family members are telephoned and threatened into making ransom payments. Common crimes on the rise also are theft, carjacking, and robbery. Despite that, Buenos Aires is still safer than cities like Rio de Janeiro (Brasil) & Bogotá (Columbia) which are considered high risk places to live or travel to.

Case 1:
"In April the director of the La Matanza University in Buenos Aires was a victim of a virtual kidnap. The criminals claimed to have abducted his daughter and he was forced to leave a bag of money in a rubbish bin near his residence.   

Statistics on virtual kidnaps are difficult to come by because in addition to underreporting, those incidents that are reported are registered under the broader category of ‘scams’ by security forces. According to the police, criminals are constantly changing their mobile phone numbers, which makes it difficult to track their calls."

Travellers, be careful!!!!! Lots of love, me.