Virtual Kidnapping Scams: A True Crime Nightmare

Welcome to Scams, Hacks and Frauds, where we retell true crime scam stories.  This week we delve into Virtual Kidnappings, something that is every parent's nightmare.

Virtual kidnapping scams are a terrifying new form of fraud that can affect any family. In this episode, we dive into Jennifer DeStafano's true crime nightmare — a shocking scam where fraudsters use AI to replicate a child's voice, making it sound like they've been kidnapped to extort money.

Using AI-generated voices ourselves, we recreate the chilling threats Jennifer received while her daughter Brianna was safely asleep after ski racing practice. This highlights how modern scammers have moved beyond traditional hacks and physical crimes to exploit technology in frightening new ways.

Join us as we expose the dangerous tactics behind these scams and share practical tips to protect your loved ones from falling prey to similar fraud. Stay informed and stay safe by understanding how these schemes operate and what you can do to prevent them.

Nb - The Words " and part of it is not, its AI generated" as well as voices that aren't Cee's were AI generated.  The crying sobs come from Epidemic Sound's library rather than AI.

We publish new content every other Monday. The  10 minutes our episodes may save your wallet, and help protect your family.

If you like shows like "The Perfect Scam" or "Darknet Diaries" then this show might be for you.  

On our website you’ll find more computer hacking, identity fraud, impersonation, consumer rights and Romance Scams.  To find these and to access our transcripts, visit us at www.scamshacksandfrauds.com.

The transcript and spoken audio are available under the Creative Commons, Share Alike, With Attributions license. For more information on this visit creativecommons.org.  

Transcript

This is every parent’s worst fear come true. 

“Listen Here, I have your daughter, you tell anyone, you cal the cops, I am going to pump her stomach so full of drugs, I am going to have my way with her, drop her in Mexico and you’ll never see her again” 

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Picture yourself in the place of Jennifer DeStafano.  

It's 4:50 pm in your home in Scottsdale, Arizona. The bustling of a busy Friday afternoon surrounds you as you pull into a car park. You're a mother of four, with your husband and two of your children out of town. Among those away is your 15-year-old daughter Briana, known as Brie.

After several years off the sport, Brie, has recently restarted Ski Racing, and how dangerous skiing can be flashes through your mind as you reverse the car into a car park, and apply the brakes.

As you reach for the car door handle, your phone begins to ring.  The screen tells you the call is from an unknown number, so your first instinct is to ignore it. Who calls from an unknown number you think, it's probably just a spam call.

But as the phone continues to ring, you remember that unknown numbers can sometimes be doctors or hospitals, and with Brie in her ski training, this could be a bad-news call, so you hit the green button to connect the call, and tentatively say “Hello”.

Your heart races as you hear a girl sobbing—it's your daughter, Brie..

“Mom” 

Her cries make your mind race with images of her crashing into race gates or trees. You ask what happened.

“Mom, I messed up”

She says as you leave the car and head inside, where her sister is finishing dance practice. You ask what happened, but a man’s voice cuts in, barking orders.

“Lay down and put your head back,” the man orders. Your panic sharpens.

Brie’s voice chokes out, “Mom, these bad men have me. Help me, help me,” before the man takes the phone .

“Listen Here” He threatens “I have your daughter, you tell anyone, you cal the cops, I am going to pump her stomach so full of drugs, I am going to have my way with her, drop her in Mexico and you’ll never see her again”  

Hear the whole story and learn how to protect your family—listen to Scams, Hacks, and Frauds. Click the link for details.

What would you do in this situation?  Do you do whatever the caller wants?  Do you call the police anyway?  What Jennifer did was put the call on mute and start screaming for help.  Several parents in the dance studio heard and surrounded her, listening to the call, which was now on speaker.  

You see your youngest daughter, Aubrey, frozen in fear. One parent calls police; another comforts Aubrey. The kidnapper is still threatening, demanding a million dollars.

But I don’t have a million dollars, you explain. The kidnapper quickly lowered demands to $50,000. As you negotiate, the parent who called police returns: the police don’t believe it’s real—they suspect your daughter’s voice was cloned. But you’re sure it’s Brie’s voice and sobs.

So you ask for instructions on how to transfer the funds.

“You will agree to being picked up in a white van, with a bag over your head so you don’t know where we are taking you.  You better have all $50,000 in cash otherwise both you and your daughter are dead!  If you don’t agree to this you’ll never see your daughter again.”

What would you do?  Would you agree?

At that moment, the parent comforting your other daughter brings her phone—your husband is on the line. Brie is safely in bed. You’re torn about what to believe. Your husband wakes Brie, who assures you she’s safe.

“Mom, I’m in bed. I have no idea what’s going on. I’m safe. It’s OK”

The nightmare lasted just over four minutes, but its effects are lifelong.

——

Of course, Jenifer reported this to the police, but the police's reaction was... disappointing. Jennifer’s report was dismissed as just a prank call. Police told her these scams happen often and offered to call her back from an unknown number, which seemed intended to reassure her—though it did little to address her concerns. I’d like to hear your views on why the police responded this way. I just can’t understand what they were hoping to achieve with this offer.

As far as the police were concerned, no crime had actually happened because no one was physically kidnapped and no money was actually transferred.  But I have a problem with this, and I wonder if you do too: The definition of fraud is an attempt to gain some type of financial advantage through deception —if nothing else, this situation is surely attempted fraud, right?

And can you imagine what would have happened if this scam had been paired with a SIM hijacking scam, like we’ve covered before?   Jennifer could have found herself in an unknown van with a bag on her head, headed to goodness knows where if she couldn’t reach her husband or Brie.

Jennifer is now afraid to answer the phone.  She’s terrified of the possibility that her voice will be cloned and used by scammers in the future, and the whole cycle will begin again.  In fact, it almost did.  Jennifer’s mother received a call from someone with her brother’s voice requesting money to deal with a hospital bill following an accident.  Jennifer’s mother, however, was able to pick up that the caller didn’t use the same types of words and sentences that her brother would.

——

To show you how good AI is getting at faking voices, part of this sentence is real, and part of it is not its AI generated.  I’ll put in the description which parts are real and which are fake.  Can you tell the difference?  And AI is only going to get better at this  - today it's Audio, tomorrow it will be video. 

The best defence is to have things that neither AI nor the people behind it will know.  

Have a password or "Safe" phrase shared with trusted people, so you can use it as a signal to confirm your identity. These calls aren't limited to fake kidnappings, but also include fraudulent bail or hospital requests.

For AI to work, it needs samples to feed from.  This might be a bit odd for me to say this, given that you’re listening to a podcast, but AI needs examples to mimic.  You should consider locking down the accounts you use on Social media, so only friends and family can access your videos.  That would make it much harder for a scammer to use them to steal your voice.

Don’t share information about any trips you’re taking until after the trip is over.  Scammers do watch people’s Social Media profiles and take advantage of times that they’re away - if the Fake Kidnappers hadn’t called when Brie was on a skiing trip, and if Jennifer wasn’t worried about Brie being injured as a part of her practice, then she might not have answered that call.

I’ve been Cee, and this is Scams, Hacks, and Frauds. Subscribe to help keep your family safe, and share our stories with your friends and family to help keep them safe too.  You’ll find transcripts and ways to listen on our website, www.scamshacksandfrauds.com.