Global Risk Services · Knowledge Hub

Kidnap, Ransom and Extortion: prevention, intelligence and response.

Q: Can criminals use AI to imitate a family member?

Yes. Criminals can use altered audio and AI-generated voice clones to support virtual-kidnapping scams. A pre-agreed code word is more reliable than voice recognition alone.

Kidnapping, extortion and wrongful detention can affect travelers, families, employees and organizations worldwide. Understanding the threat and preparing before an incident can reduce exposure and improve decision-making.

This hub is an educational resource: what the threats are, who they affect, how to prepare, and where to find authoritative help. It is not an emergency response platform.

Written and reviewed by Global Risk Services (GRS), the Kidnap, Ransom and Extortion team at Global Rescue. Our expert advisors include former members of the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit and International Operations Division. Cases described here are drawn from real-life cases, with identifying details removed. Last reviewed 9 August 2026.

Overview

What kidnap, ransom and extortion means — and why preparation matters

Kidnap, ransom and extortion (KRE) covers a family of crimes in which a person is taken, or claimed to be taken, or coerced, in order to obtain money, property, concessions or advantage. Most of it is not what people picture. In several common scenarios, nobody is abducted at all — and preparation, not payment, is what defeats them.

Who this hub is for

This resource is written for the people a KRE incident actually reaches: individual travelers and their families; students, journalists, aid workers and executives; and the organizations responsible for people who travel or work abroad. Guidance is grouped so you can go straight to what applies to you.

What you will find here

Understand the threat

Core kidnapping and extortion scenarios
Who is most exposed and why
Data limitations and current trends

Prepare before an incident

Practical prevention for travelers and families
Organizational readiness and duty of care
Verification, communications and planning

Know where to turn

General principles if an incident occurs
Government and institutional resources
Global Rescue KRE prevention and response services

If an incident may be underway

If you believe someone is in immediate danger or an incident may be underway, contact the appropriate local authorities, government resources or your organization's designated emergency contact.

Global Rescue members with Security PLUS or Security ULTIMATE can activate Emergency in the Global Rescue App to reach the operations center directly.

Last reviewed 9 August 2026 by Global Risk Services (GRS). See sources and editorial notes.

Threat Types

The scenarios travelers and organizations actually face

These categories are not academic. They differ in who is taken, who is contacted, what is demanded, and how long it lasts — and therefore in what you should do. Confusing one for another is itself a risk: the advice that helps in a kidnap for ransom is the wrong advice in a levantón. Each entry below defines the scenario, notes who tends to be targeted, and gives a general prevention consideration.

Core kidnapping and extortion scenarios

Someone is taken

Kidnap for ransom

Also: classic kidnapping, K&R

The unlawful detention of a person in order to demand payment or concessions from a third party — usually a family member or an employer — in exchange for release.

Who is targeted: Often selected on the appearance of wealth or a corporate affiliation, frequently after surveillance. Actual wealth matters less than perceived wealth.
Prevention consideration: Vary routines, avoid displaying wealth, share your itinerary, and agree a proof-of-life code word.

No one is taken

Virtual kidnapping

Also: ransom scam, virtual kidnap for ransom

An extortion scam in which criminals falsely claim to have abducted a loved one and demand an immediate ransom. No abduction occurs; the scheme runs on fear, urgency and speed.

Who is targeted: Anyone reachable by phone; travelers who have posted that they will be somewhere without cell service are especially exposed.
Prevention consideration: A pre-agreed code word ends it in seconds. Criminals now use AI voice clones and altered proof-of-life media, so verification — not “recognizing the voice” — is what defeats it.¹

Someone is taken

Express kidnapping

Spanish: secuestro exprés

A short-term abduction in which criminals force a victim to withdraw maximum cash from ATMs or move funds through banking apps. It typically ends within hours, once accounts are exhausted.

Who is targeted: Opportunistic — often travelers who hail street taxis. Common in parts of Latin America, Africa, and Asia.²
Prevention consideration: Set low daily card limits, use vetted transport, and carry few cards. The specific danger is being “sold up” to a group for a longer kidnapping.

No one is taken

Extortion

Also: extortion calls, prison-run extortion

Obtaining money, property or services through coercion, intimidation or threats of violence — forcing victims to act out of fear of harm, exposure or reputational damage.

Who is targeted: Isolated individuals and families. Criminals build false credibility with accurate personal detail gathered from surveillance, social media, or a frightened relative earlier in the same call.
Prevention consideration: Recognize the structure — schemes separate people and keep each on the phone. A code word converts “do they have my son?” into a yes-or-no question.

Someone is taken

Levantón

Spanish: “picked up”

A quick, forcible abduction carried out with no ransom demand and no contact with the victim's family. Motives vary and often remain unknown; many victims are never found.

Who is targeted: Frequently opportunistic or mistaken-identity; can follow surveillance. Meeting strangers from online marketplaces is a recurring pattern.
Prevention consideration: Because there is no process to negotiate, the advice inverts: humanizing yourself and, where possible, escape matter more than waiting.

Staged by the “victim”

Fake kidnapping

Also: staged abduction, self-kidnapping

A hoax in which a person fabricates their own abduction, or someone else's, for personal or financial gain.

Who is targeted: The family or employer of the person staging it. This is the case where the “victim” is a participant, which inverts verification: it exposes rather than rescues.
Prevention consideration: Ask questions and check the financial trail — trust, but verify. Proof-of-life discipline protects you even when the call comes from inside the family.

Someone is taken

Politically motivated hostage-taking / wrongful detention

Also: hostage diplomacy, state hostage-taking, arbitrary detention

The abduction — or state detention — of a person to obtain political concessions such as a prisoner exchange, funding, or propaganda. The counterparty is a government or armed group, and timelines can run to months or years. Where a government is the actor and the detention is unlawful or arbitrary, it is termed wrongful or arbitrary detention.

Who is targeted: Travelers to countries with tensions with their own nation; dual nationals; and people who can be used as leverage — business travelers, academics and journalists in countries with a documented pattern of the practice.
Prevention consideration: Check the current State Department Travel Advisory before you go: the “K” indicator flags kidnapping and hostage-taking risk,³ and the newer “D” indicator flags wrongful detention.¹³ Weigh dual-nationality and prior-affiliation risks for the destination, and ensure consular services are engaged if detained.

A child is taken

Familial or parental abduction

Also: family abduction, custodial interference

When one parent unlawfully takes, conceals or retains a child in violation of the other parent's custodial rights. More common than kidnap for ransom, and unlike the others it runs on courts, treaties and warrants — not negotiation.

Who is targeted: Children in families with an international dimension or a custody dispute. Cross-border cases are far harder to resolve after departure.
Prevention consideration: Address custody through the courts before travel. The route back across borders is the Hague Abduction Convention, which restores the status quo but does not decide custody.⁴

Related and emerging threats

Beyond the core scenarios, these related forms of kidnap and extortion affect particular groups, sectors and regions. Cyber ransomware is acknowledged here but, by design, points to specialist resources rather than expanding to dominate a travel-security hub.

Coercion of a third party

Tiger kidnapping

Also: tiger kidnap

A hostage — often a family member — is held to coerce a second person, usually an employee with privileged access, into handing over cash, valuables or facility access. The person forced to act is not the one held.

Who is targeted: Bank staff, cash-in-transit crews, retail and jewelry managers, and their close relatives. Historically most prevalent in the UK and Ireland.⁸
Prevention consideration: Cash-handling and access controls that assume no single employee can be coerced into full access — dual control, duress codes, verification call-backs — reduce the payoff.

Someone is taken

Opportunistic abduction

Also: crime-of-opportunity kidnapping

An unplanned, circumstantial kidnapping — the victim is seized because they present themselves as an available, vulnerable or apparently affluent target at that moment, not because they were pre-selected.

Who is targeted: Anyone who reads as vulnerable or wealthy; travelers and foreign nationals disproportionately, because of visibility and assumed resources. Many express kidnappings are opportunistic.²
Prevention consideration: Reduce predictability and visible vulnerability — vetted transport, situational awareness, and avoiding isolated or high-risk areas removes the opening these crimes depend on.

Someone is taken

Terrorist hostage-taking

Distinct from criminal kidnap-for-ransom

The seizing of hostages by a terrorist or ideological group to advance political, ideological or financing objectives — as opposed to criminal kidnap-for-ransom, where the motive is purely financial.

Who is targeted: Nationals seen as high-value for propaganda or leverage, aid workers, journalists, and personnel in conflict or extremist-controlled areas. Ransom paid to a designated group is also a terrorist-financing concern in its own right.⁹
Government policy: The U.S. and UK both maintain long-standing no-concessions policies — neither government will itself pay a ransom to a terrorist group. That is not the same as “no engagement,” and the two countries do not treat private payment the same way.¹⁰What “no concessions” means in practice →
Prevention consideration: Threat-informed travel planning and avoiding non-essential travel to active extremist-operating areas is the primary mitigation.

Crew taken at sea

Maritime kidnapping

Kidnap-for-ransom of crew

The abduction of ship crew, usually for ransom, during piracy or armed-robbery attacks at sea — concentrated overwhelmingly in the Gulf of Guinea off West Africa.

Who is targeted: Senior crew and foreign nationals aboard commercial vessels transiting or operating in high-risk waters. The Gulf of Guinea accounted for 23 of the 25 crew kidnapped at sea in 2025.¹⁴
Prevention consideration: Follow current IMB advisories and industry Best Management Practices for high-risk waters, and report to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre.

No one is taken

Sextortion and reputational extortion

Includes financial sextortion

Coercion in which an offender threatens to release intimate, embarrassing or reputation-damaging material unless the victim pays or provides more images. Financial sextortion — demanding money — is a fast-growing variant.

Who is targeted: The FBI warns financial sextortion disproportionately targets minors and teens, especially boys aged roughly 14–17; adults are also targeted, often through fake profiles or romance approaches.¹⁵
Prevention consideration: Do not send intimate images to unverified contacts; preserve evidence and report to the FBI's IC3 rather than paying — payment typically invites further demands.

No one is taken

Cyber-enabled extortion

Ransomware & data extortion, “double extortion”

Extortion carried out through cyber means: encrypting an organization's systems and/or stealing its data, then demanding payment to restore access or to prevent publication.

Who is targeted: Organizations of every size and sector, including critical infrastructure.
Prevention consideration: This is a large field of its own. Follow CISA's #StopRansomware guidance — offline backups, patching, MFA, and a tested incident-response plan — as the authoritative reference.¹⁶

Extortion of business

Protection-payment schemes

Spanish: cobro de piso

Recurring extortion payments demanded from businesses by criminal organizations in exchange for being allowed to operate — known in Mexico and parts of Latin America as cobro de piso, “floor charge.”

Who is targeted: Local merchants, larger enterprises, transporters and producers in areas under criminal-group control; foreign-owned businesses are not exempt.¹⁷
Prevention consideration: Treat it as an organized-crime and duty-of-care issue: local security and legal counsel and law-enforcement liaison. Note that payments to sanctioned groups can carry legal exposure.

Role-based targeting

Threats against executives or employees

Executive-targeting, workplace threats

Targeted threats, intimidation or violence directed at company leaders or staff — including kidnap, extortion and travel- or workplace-related threats — because of their role, visibility or perceived value.

Who is targeted: Senior executives and high-profile personnel, and at times their families and colleagues — particularly in higher-risk regions or exposed industries.
Prevention consideration: Threat assessments, travel-risk management aligned to ISO 31030, and executive-protection planning proportionate to role and destination risk.¹⁸

How the core scenarios compare

The fastest way to see why one label does not fit all of them. Note especially the second column: in several scenarios, no abduction has occurred at all.

Comparison of core kidnapping and extortion scenarios, per Global Rescue's Global Risk Services team.
Scenario	Is anyone actually abducted?	Who is contacted	Typical duration	Is a ransom demanded?
Kidnap for ransom	Yes	Family or employer	Days to months	Yes
Virtual kidnapping	No — nobody is taken	The family, by phone	Hours to days	Yes
Express kidnapping	Yes	Nobody — the victim's own accounts are drained	Hours to overnight	No — cash is taken directly
Extortion	No — nobody is taken	Whoever answers the phone	Hours to days	Yes
Levantón	Yes	Nobody — no contact is made	Often permanent	No
Fake kidnapping	No — staged by the “victim”	Family or employer	Hours to days	Yes
Political / wrongful detention	Yes	A government	Months to years	Concessions, sometimes ransom
Parental abduction	Yes — a child	Nobody — it is a custody dispute	Months to years	No

Who Is at Risk

Risk follows exposure, visibility and context

Nationality alone does not determine KRE exposure. Destination, role, routine, perceived wealth, public visibility and the quality of local support all change the risk picture.

Individual travelers

Opportunistic crimes can affect any traveler, especially where transport, cash access, routine or visible signs of wealth create an opening.

Solo travelers and unfamiliar visitors
Students and long-stay travelers
People traveling to higher-risk areas

Families

Families can become the target even when the traveler is safe. Public travel plans, emergency gaps and unverifiable calls create leverage.

Relatives receiving ransom or extortion calls
High-profile or affluent families
Families with international custody issues

Businesses and enterprises

Executives and employees may be targeted because of company affiliation, decision authority, access to funds or work in exposed sectors.

Executives and high-profile personnel
Extractive, logistics and infrastructure sectors
Staff assigned to elevated-risk destinations

Travel organizations and institutions

Universities, NGOs, media organizations, tour operators and other institutions carry duty-of-care responsibilities for people they send abroad.

Journalists and aid workers
Study-abroad participants
Expedition and field teams

Prevention

Reduce the openings these incidents depend on

KRE prevention is less about one dramatic precaution than disciplined preparation: understand where risk is concentrated, reduce unnecessary exposure, protect information and rehearse how you will verify and communicate.

Destination & environment

Review official advisories and neighborhood-level security conditions.
Plan vetted transportation and secure accommodations.
Understand local patterns of kidnapping, extortion and wrongful detention.

Visibility & profile

Limit real-time location sharing and unnecessary public travel detail.
Reduce visible indicators of wealth or corporate importance.
Separate public contact information from sensitive travel and family details.

Patterns & logistics

Avoid predictable routines when risk is elevated.
Set check-in expectations and missed-check-in procedures.
Establish a family verification phrase and decision roles before departure.

A recurring lesson from our casework

Preparation creates time and options. A code word, a vetted driver, a known escalation path or a family member who knows whom to call can turn a confusing first few minutes into a disciplined response.

If an Incident Occurs

Verify, protect information and bring in qualified help early

No two incidents are identical. The correct response depends on whether someone is actually missing, who is making the demand, where the event is occurring and what legal or government restrictions apply.

Immediate danger

If someone may be in immediate danger, contact the appropriate local authorities and your designated emergency or security provider. This page is general educational guidance, not an emergency-response channel.

General first principles

Protect immediate safetyMove people who are not directly involved to a safe location and avoid creating a second incident.
Activate authorities and emergency contactsUse established organizational, consular and law-enforcement channels appropriate to the location and scenario.
Preserve informationKeep messages, numbers, account details, transaction requests, recordings and contemporaneous notes.
Verify independently where safeDo not let urgency replace verification. Confirm the person's status through a separate channel when possible.
Limit public disclosureAvoid broadcasting operational details, family information or negotiation activity that can complicate response.
Follow established protocolsUse the decision roles, notification paths and communications procedures created before the incident.
Avoid impulsive commitmentsDo not set expectations or make promises before qualified responders understand the situation.
Do not attempt an independent rescue or confrontationUncoordinated action can increase risk to the victim and others.
Seek qualified guidanceExperienced responders can help verify the event, structure decisions and coordinate with authorities.

What “no concessions” means in practice

United States — PPD-30 (2015)

Presidential Policy Directive 30, issued 24 June 2015 alongside Executive Order 13698, reaffirmed that the U.S. government “will make no concessions to individuals or groups holding U.S. nationals hostage.” Alongside that reaffirmation it made three things explicit that had not been clear before:¹⁰

No concessions does not mean no communication. The directive permits U.S. assistance to private efforts to communicate with hostage-takers and permits the U.S. government itself to communicate with hostage-takers, intermediaries, governments and local communities in an effort to secure safe recovery.
The Justice Department stated it does not intend to prosecute families who pay. The 2015 policy review recorded an enforcement position intended not to add to families' pain. It was not a repeal of underlying material-support laws and does not eliminate sanctions exposure.
It created a permanent body to run these cases. The Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, hosted at the FBI and staffed across government, became the operational coordinating body for recovering U.S. hostages abroad. Global Rescue's Global Risk Services team includes a former HRFC official.

That framework remains in force. Executive Order 14078, issued in July 2022, added sanctions and visa tools against hostage-takers while stating that EO 13698 and PPD-30 continue to apply to U.S. hostage recovery activities.¹⁰

United Kingdom — a firmer line on private payment

The UK shares the no-concessions position at government level but treats private payment differently. Under the Terrorism Act 2000, making funds available where there is knowledge or reasonable cause to suspect they may be used for terrorism is a criminal offence, and section 17A — inserted by the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 — makes it an offence for an insurer to reimburse a payment it knows or has reasonable cause to suspect was made in response to a terrorist demand. Kidnap cases with no terrorist involvement are treated differently. The practical effect is that the U.S. assurance to families has no direct UK equivalent.¹¹

Why this matters in practice

The distinction between a government making concessions and a government engaging at all is the difference between a narrow set of options and a wider one. Writing in 2019, researcher Danielle Gilbert noted that the Fusion Cell had by then recovered more than 200 hostages since its 2015 inception using a range of approaches. That figure is historical and is cited here as reported; a current figure should be sourced from the FBI or Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs before publication.¹²

If you receive a call claiming someone has been taken

Several scenarios above begin with a phone call. In three of them, nobody has actually been taken. This sequence works across them because it verifies before it concedes anything.

Ask for the code wordIf you agreed to one in advance, this is the fastest resolution available. A recording, a voice clone, or a caller reading a script cannot produce it.
Have someone else call the person directlyOn another line, while you stay on this one. The FBI's guidance is explicit: attempt to contact your loved one before considering any payment.¹
Record it, or take notesWhen taking notes, key details matter more than exact wording. If you do not remember specific details from the call, “I don't remember” is an acceptable response.
Concede nothingAgreeing to pay sets the price and invites escalation. Slow the call down — manufactured urgency is itself the tell.
Do not do this aloneThese schemes are built by teams and run against isolated people. Contact your security provider or law enforcement immediately.

Prevention for Travelers

Practical preparation for individuals and families

Most of what reduces kidnap, ransom, and extortion risk is done before departure and costs little. The single highest-value preparation — a proof-of-life code word — takes five minutes and defeats an entire category of phone-based crime.

Plan and prepare before you go

Review official travel advisories for your destination, and understand neighborhood-level risk rather than country averages.⁵
Enroll in applicable government traveler programs, such as the U.S. State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).⁶
Share an itinerary with a trusted contact, and establish scheduled check-ins.
Save emergency contact information offline, and review your communication options for the destination.
Arrange vetted transportation; avoid hailing taxis off the street, and use recognized ride-share services or hotel-arranged transport.
Avoid publishing real-time travel plans, and limit visible signs of wealth.
Discuss family emergency procedures, and create a family verification phrase (a code word).
Review the limitations of your assistance and insurance coverage, and understand what security support is actually available to you.

Higher-risk travel

When a destination or role carries elevated risk, preparation should go further:

Obtain a destination-specific threat assessment and a security briefing.
Agree to missed check-in procedures and emergency communication protocols in advance.
Use vetted drivers and secure accommodations.
Practice basic surveillance awareness — if you see the same person more than once across a day, break your pattern and move to a safe place.
Define who makes decisions, and arrange professional response support before you travel.

Prevention for Businesses

Assessing and building organizational readiness

Organizations carry a duty of care for the people they send abroad. A KRE program is not a single purchase — it is an assessment of exposure, a set of protocols, trained people, and a tested plan for the day something goes wrong.

Preparation

Assess exposure

KRE risk assessment and traveler profiling
Executive and family vulnerability assessment
High-risk travel thresholds and approval rules

Build protocols

Travel security and vetted-vendor standards
Role-specific KRE prevention training
Crisis plans and tabletop exercises

Govern & review

Decision authority and communications roles
Legal, sanctions and compliance review
Assistance and insurance capability review

ISO 31030: travel risk management

ISO 31030 provides a structured framework for travel risk management. Applied to KRE, that means matching traveler and route risk to briefings, tracking, approval thresholds, response protocols and documented duty-of-care decisions.¹⁸

Response planning

Crisis-team activation and decision authority
Family liaison and welfare support
Police, consular and government coordination
Information security and internal communications
Media and reputation management
Board notification and business continuity
Documentation, post-incident support and after-action review

Data and Trends

What the available data can — and cannot — tell us

Kidnapping and extortion data is fragmented by country, reporting system and definition. The figures below are useful indicators of scale and pattern, not a single comparable global rate.

235Aid workers kidnapped worldwide in 2025Aid Worker Security Database

54U.S. nationals held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad at some point in 2024Across 17 countries · Foley Foundation

25Crew kidnapped at sea in 202523 in the Gulf of Guinea · ICC IMB

86,415Extortion complaints reported to FBI IC3 in 2024FBI Internet Crime Report

How to interpret KRE statistics

Underreporting is the rule

Victims, families and companies may avoid reporting because of fear, privacy, trust or operational concerns. Recorded cases are a floor, not a complete picture.

Definitions differ

Datasets may count kidnapping, hostage-taking, wrongful detention, extortion and missing-person cases differently.

Comparisons are fragile

Country totals can reflect reporting systems as much as underlying risk, so local context matters more than a rank order.

Currency matters

Threat patterns and reporting change quickly. Always check the date and methodology behind a figure before using it for travel decisions.

Expertise

Human expertise behind this hub

Global Risk Services (GRS) brings together experienced security professionals, including retired FBI Supervisory Special Agents and former U.S. military officers, to support prevention, assessment and response.

Team experience includes a founding member of the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell and former Crisis Negotiations Supervisor; a founding member of a Mexican anti-kidnapping initiative with experience across more than 100 cases; former FBI Academy adjunct faculty; and assignments spanning the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit, Hostage Rescue Team, International Operations Division and U.S. government counterterrorism work. Individual careers extend across roughly three decades of crisis, security and negotiation work.

Global Rescue has supported travelers and organizations worldwide since 2004. Its clients include corporations, government organizations, universities, NGOs, expedition operators and media organizations.

Operational privacy

Individual biographies and sensitive operational details are intentionally limited on this public resource. The purpose of this section is to explain the experience behind the guidance without creating unnecessary exposure.

Government Resources

Authoritative government and institutional resources

Use official sources for current travel advisories, consular help, law-enforcement reporting and specialized guidance. External links can change; verify the destination and publication date before relying on them.

United States

U.S. Department of State — Travel Advisories

Country-level security advisories, including kidnapping (“K”) and wrongful detention (“D”) risk indicators where applicable.

U.S. GovernmentTraveler · FamilyGlobal

Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)

Free enrollment for U.S. citizens traveling or living abroad to receive embassy security information and help authorities reach them in an emergency.

State DepartmentTravelerGlobal

Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC)

Security reporting and threat information for U.S. private-sector organizations operating abroad.

State DepartmentEnterpriseGlobal

FBI — Virtual Kidnapping

FBI guidance on false ransom calls, verification and reporting.

FBITraveler · FamilyU.S.

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)

Reporting portal and public-service advisories for cyber-enabled fraud, extortion and virtual kidnapping.

FBIAllU.S.

Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs

U.S. government office focused on recovering U.S. nationals held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad.

State DepartmentHostage affairsInternational

CISA — #StopRansomware

Authoritative U.S. government ransomware-prevention and incident-response guidance.

CISAEnterpriseCyber

Office of Children's Issues — International Parental Child Abduction

U.S. Central Authority information for prevention and Hague Abduction Convention cases.

State DepartmentFamilyInternational

International

UK FCDO — Foreign Travel Advice

Official UK travel advice for 200+ countries covering safety and security, entry requirements, health, and getting help.

UK GovernmentTraveler · FamilyInternational

Government of Canada — Travel Advice & Advisories

Official risk-level advisories for 230+ destinations, with safety, security, health and local emergency-contact information.

Global Affairs CanadaTraveler · FamilyInternational

Australian Government — Smartraveller

Australia's official travel-advisory service, with security, health and entry information and a traveler registration service.

DFATTraveler · FamilyInternational

UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

UN body addressing transnational organized crime, trafficking and terrorism prevention; custodian of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

United NationsEnterprise · GovernmentGlobal

INTERPOL — Crimes

Coordinates cross-border police cooperation, including on maritime crime and missing persons. No single dedicated kidnapping page exists.

INTERPOLAll / Law enforcementGlobal

ICC IMB — Piracy Reporting Centre

24-hour centre that receives piracy and armed-robbery reports, warns shipping of hotspots, and publishes piracy statistics.

ICC Int'l Maritime BureauEnterprise (maritime)Global

NCMEC — Family & International Abduction

Clearinghouse offering families legal referrals, country-specific abduction guidance, emotional support and case resources.

NCMECFamilyU.S. / International

Global Rescue Services

How Global Rescue supports KRE prevention and response

Global Rescue’s Kidnap, Ransom and Extortion services are available with Security Plus and Security Ultimate membership add-ons. Services are provided in-house by Global Risk Services (GRS) and include prevention training, expert advisory support and incident response.

Prevention services

Destination and itinerary risk assessments
Traveler security briefings
Executive and family exposure assessments
Security planning and organizational policy review
KRE preparedness planning, training and exercises
Intelligence and event monitoring

Advisory services

Access to security professionals and threat assessment
Incident verification support and decision support
Family and organizational guidance
Government and law enforcement coordination support
Communications recommendations and specialist consultation

Response services

Incident management support and crisis coordination
Kidnap and extortion response advisory
Family liaison guidance
Security evacuation or extraction where applicable
Medical and psychological support coordination
Post-incident recovery support

Preparation backed by expert response

Global Rescue Security PLUS and Security ULTIMATE combine comprehensive KRE prevention training with access to experienced crisis negotiators and expert advisors, including former members of the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit. Learn how Global Rescue can help you prepare for KRE risks and provide expert support if an incident occurs.

Explore KRE Services Get Security PLUS or ULTIMATE

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

Concise answers to the questions travelers, families and organizations ask most. Each links to deeper content where available.

What does KRE mean?

KRE stands for kidnap, ransom and extortion — a family of crimes in which a person is taken, or claimed to be taken, or coerced, in order to obtain money, property, concessions or advantage. It covers everything from classic kidnap for ransom to phone-based scams in which nobody is abducted at all. See Threat Types.

What is kidnap for ransom?

The unlawful detention of a person to demand payment or concessions from a third party — usually a family member or employer — in exchange for release. Victims are often selected on the appearance of wealth rather than actual wealth, and frequently after a period of surveillance.

What is express kidnapping?

A short-term abduction in which criminals force a victim to withdraw maximum cash from ATMs or move funds through banking apps, usually ending within hours once accounts are exhausted. It is common in parts of Latin America, Africa and Asia and is typically opportunistic. The specific danger is being “sold up” to a larger group for a longer kidnapping.

What is virtual kidnapping?

An extortion scam in which criminals falsely claim to have abducted a loved one and demand an immediate ransom. Nobody is taken; the scheme depends on fear and urgency to force payment before the claim can be verified — which is exactly why a pre-agreed code word defeats it in seconds.

What is wrongful detention, and how is it different from kidnapping?

Wrongful or arbitrary detention is carried out by a state rather than a criminal group — a government detains a person to gain leverage, such as a prisoner exchange or diplomatic concession. Unlike criminal kidnapping there is no ransom channel to work; resolution comes through consular and diplomatic processes, and timelines run to months or years.

What is the difference between kidnapping and hostage-taking?

The terms overlap. In general use, kidnapping emphasizes moving and concealing a victim to extract something from a third party, while hostage-taking emphasizes holding a person openly as leverage — often in a standoff or a politically motivated situation. Both may involve ransom or concessions; the practical difference is who the counterparty is and how resolution is reached.

What is the difference between ransom and extortion?

Ransom is a form of extortion, not a separate crime alongside it. Extortion is the broad category — obtaining money, property or services through coercion or threats — and it takes many forms. Ransom is the specific case where the leverage is a person being held, and payment is demanded for their release.

Most extortion involves no captivity at all. The leverage may be a threat of violence, the exposure of intimate or reputationally damaging material, the encryption or publication of stolen data, or a recurring demand on a business for so-called protection. Virtual kidnapping sits here too: the demand imitates a ransom, but nobody has been taken. So every ransom demand is extortion, while most extortion is not a ransom demand.

Which travelers are most at risk?

Risk varies by destination, role and visibility rather than nationality alone. Journalists, humanitarian and NGO workers, executives, extractive-industry staff, students abroad and high-profile individuals tend to face elevated exposure — but opportunistic crimes such as express kidnapping can affect any traveler. See Who Is at Risk.

Which destinations have kidnapping risks?

The U.S. Department of State adds a “K” indicator to its Travel Advisories for countries where kidnapping or hostage-taking is a particular concern. Risk is not uniform within a country and the advisories change, so check the current advisory for your specific destination rather than relying on a general impression. See Government resources.

How reliable are global kidnapping statistics?

Treat them as a floor, not a full picture. Kidnapping and extortion are heavily underreported, definitions differ between governments and data providers, and some datasets combine kidnapping, hostage-taking and wrongful detention. Global comparisons should be interpreted carefully. See Data and Trends.

Does travel insurance provide KRE response support?

Not necessarily. Kidnap-and-ransom insurance is a financial product that reimburses costs after an incident, and advisory access is usually bundled with buying a policy. KRE response is the operational work of managing an incident — crisis negotiation, family support and coordination with authorities. Global Rescue provides response and advisory services through a flat-rate membership, independent of any insurance purchase.

What should I do if I receive a ransom or extortion demand?

Slow the call down and verify before conceding anything. Ask for the code word, have someone call the person directly on another line, and take notes or record it. Do not agree to pay before verifying, and do not handle it alone — contact your security provider or law enforcement immediately. See If an Incident Occurs. If someone may be in immediate danger, contact local authorities now.

Should I contact law enforcement?

In most cases, yes — and quickly. Extortion and virtual-kidnapping schemes are run by organized teams and are exactly the kind of crime authorities and professional responders are equipped to handle. Involving them early does not slow a legitimate resolution; handling it alone is what these schemes are designed to exploit.

Can criminals use AI to imitate a family member?

Yes. The FBI has warned that criminals can alter photos and audio — including AI-generated voice clones built from material scraped from social media — to manufacture fake proof of life in virtual-kidnapping scams. This is why a pre-agreed code word, which a clone cannot produce, is more reliable than recognizing the voice.

How can businesses prepare employees?

Start with risk assessment and clear travel thresholds, then train employees on destination-specific risks, verification, communications and escalation. Pair the training with vetted transportation, reliable check-in procedures, a crisis plan and a response provider that is understood before travel begins. See Prevention for Businesses.

What should families do before someone travels?

Share the itinerary, agree on check-in expectations, save emergency contacts and create a private family verification phrase. The code word is especially useful because it gives relatives a fast way to test a virtual-kidnapping claim without relying on voice recognition or caller ID.

My child was taken abroad by their other parent. Is that kidnapping?

Yes — it is called parental kidnapping, family abduction or custodial interference, and it is more common than kidnap for ransom. It runs on courts and treaties, not negotiation. If the child was taken to a country party to the Hague Abduction Convention, an application can be filed through the appropriate Central Authority. The Convention is civil and does not decide custody; its purpose is to restore the pre-abduction situation.

How can Global Rescue help?

Global Rescue's Global Risk Services team provides prevention, advisory and response support for members with eligible Security PLUS or Security ULTIMATE coverage, including KRE prevention training, incident verification, crisis advisory, family guidance and coordination support. See Global Rescue Services.

Sources & Editorial Notes

Primary and authoritative references

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Virtual Kidnapping — verification and reporting guidance.
U.S. Department of State Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), “Kidnapping: The Basics” — definitions, threat patterns and prevention guidance.
OSAC / U.S. Department of State — “K” kidnapping and hostage-taking risk indicator used in Travel Advisories.
U.S. Department of State, Hague Abduction Convention — international parental child-abduction process.
U.S. Department of State, Travel Advisories — current destination-level safety and security advice.
U.S. Department of State, Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) — free enrollment for U.S. citizens traveling abroad.
Federal Bureau of Investigation / IC3, “Criminals Using Altered Proof-of-Life Media to Extort Victims in Virtual Kidnapping for Ransom Scams” (December 2025).
UK National Crime Agency, Kidnap and Extortion — definitions including tiger kidnapping and UK threat context.
U.S. Department of the Treasury, “Kidnapping for Ransom: The Growing Terrorist Financing Challenge” (2014), with related RUSI analysis on U.S. and UK policy.
The White House, Presidential Policy Directive 30 (24 June 2015), Executive Order 13698, “Report on U.S. Hostage Policy” (June 2015), and Executive Order 14078 (19 July 2022).
UK Terrorism Act 2000, section 17A, inserted by the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 — restrictions relating to terrorist ransom reimbursement.
Danielle Gilbert, “No Concessions? A Closer Look at U.S. Hostage Recovery Policy,” War on the Rocks (2019).
U.S. Department of State / OSAC — “D” wrongful-detention risk indicator and related U.S. wrongful-detention policy references.
ICC International Maritime Bureau, 2025 annual piracy reporting — crew kidnapping and Gulf of Guinea figures.
Federal Bureau of Investigation — financial sextortion public guidance and reporting resources.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, #StopRansomware — prevention and response guidance.
OSAC Mexico security reporting — organized-crime and extortion context.
ISO 31030, Travel risk management — Guidance, with ISO 31000 risk-management principles.
Aid Worker Security Database, Major attacks on aid workers: summary statistics — recorded incident data, with annual Humanitarian Outcomes reporting.
James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, “Bringing Americans Home” — annual reporting on U.S. nationals held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad.
Federal Bureau of Investigation / IC3, 2024 Internet Crime Report — extortion complaint volume and category reporting.
Federal Bureau of Investigation / IC3, “Criminals Use Generative Artificial Intelligence to Facilitate Financial Fraud” (December 2024) — AI voice cloning and fraud techniques.
Mexico extortion victim figures referenced from SESNSP/ENVIPE reporting. To be confirmed against SESNSP/INEGI primary data before publication.
Global Rescue, Kidnap, Ransom, and Extortion: Prevention & Response — service description and plan comparison.

About the cases and figures on this page

Cases described here are drawn from real-life cases, with identifying details removed. They are included because patterns repeat — not as statistics. Where this guide describes what is more or less common from our casework, it says so, and does not present it as a measured rate.

This page is general educational guidance and is not legal advice. If a child has been taken across a border, or you are dealing with a detention by a foreign government, contact your government's consular service.