HELENA, Montana (Independent Record) — The Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning the public about virtual kidnapping scams targeting families in western Montana.
In 2020, Montana had 186 victims of extortion with losses totaling $413,176, officials said.
FBI Salt Lake City has recently received reports of victims getting calls from scammers claiming to have kidnapped a loved one and threatening to harm them unless a ransom is paid. No one is physically kidnapped in these schemes.
Many of these calls originate in Mexico.
In one recent case, a scammer convinced a Kalispell man that his son was in danger and defrauded the victim out of thousands of dollars. In another case, criminals targeted a woman whose daughter was reported missing earlier this year.