5. Frightening Virtual Kidnappings for Ransom

Nowadays, there are hundreds of scams one could fall for. Modern technology allows criminals

to target far more people than ever before and get away without facing any consequences.

Virtual Kidnapping Ransom scams are where the criminal reaches out to their victims

and pretends to have kidnapped one of their loved ones. It can be extremely disheartening

and dangerous for all involved. These are 5. Frightening Virtual Kidnappings for Ransom.

5. Lita Rodriguez

It was around noon on August 18, 2020. When Lita Rodriguez, a Colombian immigrant received a phone call

from a number she didn't recognize. When she picked up the phone, she was shocked to hear a young

woman crying for help. Mommy, the person on the line shouted, something terrible happened to me.

The woman in distress was then interrupted by a man who said that he was a member of a gang

from Cino Loa, Mexico. He told Mrs. Rodriguez that he and his cohorts were dealing with weapons and

drugs when her daughter began screaming, prompting the police to go after them.

Her daughter's medling cost them $30,000 in damages, so they kidnapped her.

This man threatened to murder Mrs. Rodriguez's daughter if she didn't send them cash as soon as possible.

As any mother would in that situation, the 71-year-old agreed to give whatever the fake kidnappers

demanded for her daughter's freedom. Later interviews, Rodriguez said that the woman's voice was so

similar to her daughter, Vicki's. That's why she didn't doubt what the caller was telling her.

The scammers kept Rodriguez on the line for as long as possible so that she wouldn't realize that

everything they were saying was a sham. Mrs. Rodriguez was told to drop off a total of $2,000 to a

money remittance center in Long Beach, which she quickly did. And just like that, the scammers

disappeared. I was after the transaction was made. Lita called her children to find out their

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