Decalogue against virtual kidnappings
Today we are all connected and it is rare that if you want to talk to a person, this afternoon to answer. Therefore, it is inevitable to worry when someone does not respond to our messages. Has something happened to you, will it be okay? This concern increases as time passes and we still do not know anything ... and there are those who have seen in this a terrible business.
The system they use is simple: they take advantage of this feeling to make people believe that someone close to their circle has been kidnapped. Unable to contact the alleged victim, it is thought that this rape has indeed occurred and the ransom demanded is paid in order to safeguard the integrity of this person. Therefore, the Civil Guard has developed a decalogue against virtual kidnappings.
Beware of believing these calls
These calls are, in general, totally hazardous and, in most cases, end up resolved in a few seconds as the person receiving this notice of abduction easily contacts the alleged victim. However, as we have said, there are times when either because you are driving or because you do not have your mobile phone at hand, this response does not occur.
It is, at this time, when the anguish of family members increases and as time goes by and no response has been obtained for these people the notification of kidnapping becomes more real. However, we must always remember that the most important thing in these cases is to remain calm and think about the correct way to proceed in the face of this strange news that comes from an unknown telephone.
The fundamental thing in these cases is to try to contact the possible victim of this kidnapping and make sure it is okay. In case of no response, it is advisable to contact the authorities to explain that a call has been received warning of a kidnapping and that trying to contact this person has not been successful. Although it is difficult, we must remain calm and not pay the amount of money that has been demanded for the freedom of the possible kidnapped.
Eye with the call prefix
In most of these cases, calls warning of abduction occur from abroad. This may be a clue that we are being victimized by a virtual kidnapping since these people contact Spanish phones at random waiting for someone to believe the lie. If it is seen that the prefix does not correspond to our country and the allegedly kidnapped relative or friend has not left our borders, obviously this warning is false.
Given the proliferation of these virtual kidnappings during the summer taking advantage of the holidays, the Civil Guard has made a decalogue with which to give some safety guidelines to follow in the event that one of these calls is received:
1. Special attention with calls received from unknown prefixes or hidden numbering.
2. Keep calm and serenity when we are facing a threatening call.
3. Listen and let the speaker speak and record the conversation for the subsequent complaint.
4. Never give personal, family, location or contact information to the interlocutors and try to contrast the data given by the alleged kidnappers.
5. Always leave a free telephone line to try to contact the alleged victim. In case of not getting an answer, notify the authorities instantly.
6. Ask personal questions about the victim that allows, based on the answer, to conclude that it is a false kidnapping.
7. Never make monetary payments or deliveries of value effects required by the alleged abductor.
8. Do not hesitate to cut off the communication. Normally the supposed kidnappers will desist and look for another possible victim.
9. Write immediately everything that is remembered and reported always the facts to the civil guard.
10. Control the data published on social networks and never answer surveys in which you ask for personal information. This can give clues to criminals to make us believe that it is a real kidnapping.
Damián Montero
