Summary: Gavin Anstey sheds some light on a fake kidnapping scam that has been happening in Argentina. He shares important tips on how to avoid being a victim.

When Tatiana Kaler answered the phone one year ago, she was speechless when the man on the other end claimed to have sequestered her mother. She had just woken up, alone in her house, and someone was demanding money in exchange for her mother's life.

Cooperating, she gave the man her cell phone number, which he immediately called, occupying both her house and personal phones. It was a picture perfect setup.

"I was scared because I had not seen my mother the night before and they just called me…and I was alone," said 24-year-old Kaler. "It seemed very strange but I believed it." To save her mother's life, Kaler followed the kidnapper's instructions; she put a little more than $900 pesos in a bag and threw it over the apartment balcony. Once the criminals – there were actually two of them - had the money, both phones went dead.

Her mother, however, was not and had never been in any danger; she was just out of town. Kaler had been duped into believing that her mother had been kidnapped; she had become an unsuspecting victim of a fake kidnapping.

The History

Secuestros virtuales – as they are known in castellano - are not uncommon in Buenos Aires, or Argentina for that matter. They have occurred in every barrio and at least one is reported every 24 hours, according to a June 2008 La Nación article.

First appearing in 2003, this type of crime was more or less an isolated incident; prisoners would call people from jail pretending to have kidnapped a loved one in the hopes of obtaining credit for their prepaid phones. But in the ensuing years, the incidents began escalating in their severity and prisoners were no longer the only ones calling.

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About the Author LivingInArgentina.com is an online publication devoted to expats in Argentina. It covers business, travel and everyday affairs and is published in English, French and Spanish.

First Published: Oct 29, 2009