The Oregon FBI has advice on building a digital defense against scammers targeting families looking for missing people.
You see it every day on Facebook or other social media platforms. A family member posts that their teen has disappeared or an older parent has not returned from a trip. The goal is of course to achieve the recovery of the missing person through a “crowdsource”.
This is where the scammer comes in: After scammers have identified a missing person on social media, they research details about the disappearance, the missing person, and the missing person’s family. The scammers often get family members phone numbers on social media and use third-party calling or messaging apps to make ransom demands. Demand typically ranges from $ 5,000 to $ 10,000, with $ 7,000 being a common amount.
Generally, perpetrators do not offer life evidence, although there has been at least one case where the scammer called the family and pretended to be the victim. Perpetrators often claim that the missing person is sick or injured, adding to the urgency of the situation and putting additional pressure on family members to pay the ransom.
If you are the target or victim of blackmail attempts related to a missing person:
1) Contact your local law enforcement agency or local FBI office (contact information can be found at www.fbi.gov);
2) Keep all original documents, emails, text messages and communication logs with the subject. Don’t delete anything before law enforcement can review it. and
3) Tell law enforcement all about the online encounters – it may be embarrassing for the parent or the missing person, but it is necessary to find the culprit. When reporting online fraud, use the complaint form to be as descriptive as possible by providing the following:
• the subject’s name and / or username;
• Email addresses and phone numbers used by the subject;
• websites used by the subject;
• Description of all interactions with the topic.
If you have been a victim of online fraud, you should also report the incident to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov or call your local FBI office.
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