ransom - Haiti Observer Blog

Reports on fake kidnapping scams have been made recently. According to reports, scammers call random people and tell them that they have abducted a relative. It can be someone's brother, sister, son, or others. Once the victim has believed the caller, the criminal will then ask for ransom. These fake kidnappers would also frighten the caller by "threatening" the life of his/her relative.

Such incidents have happened in various places already, including Singapore and the American state of Miami. Officials said this crime is not new because it actually started in 1998 in Puerto Rico. According to Miami officials, more than 40 cases of kidnapping scams have already been reported in the past months. The Federal Bureau of Investigation added that the agency receives similar reports at least once a week.

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One excuse that the Haitian government has been spreading every time there is a kidnapping case in Haiti is that the government does not have control over the cell phones the criminals use to process their transaction such as contacting family members, requesting ransom, and actually getting compensation for the crime.

Is the Haitian Government soft on crime?

Hopefully a close regulation of the sale of mobile phones and SIM cards in Haiti will make it harder for these criminals. Actually, this is what the Secretary of State for Public Security, Réginald Delva, thinks. As a matter of fact, the Secretary of State for Public Security had for officials of the National Council of Telecommunications (CONATEL) that from now on to take the necessary steps to ensure that all sales of cell phones is registered and asked the National Identification Office (ONI) to help him identify criminals. Any operator of cell phone are now required to control the pre-activation of SIM cards.

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