Cancun Man Rescued After Father Pays Ransom in Phone Extortion Scam

Cancun, Quintana Roo — Authorities in Cancun located a man after his father paid a ransom in a phone extortion scheme where the caller claimed to be from a criminal group and said he had kidnapped the victim.

The State Prosecutor’s Office reported that police investigators, in coordination with the Public Security Department, responded to a virtual extortion case in Cancun, leading to the prompt location of a male victim.

The incident began with a report about a threatening phone call in which a suspected criminal claimed to belong to a criminal organization.

Deception from Tamaulipas Prison

Investigations revealed the call originated from Altamira prison in the state of Tamaulipas. The extortionist convinced the victim’s father that his son, who works at a business on Kabah Avenue, had been kidnapped.

To bolster the deception, the caller sent a photo of the young man through a messaging app and communicated in a dialect, which increased the credibility of the situation.

Fearing for his son’s safety, the father deposited 50,000 pesos at a bank branch. After receiving the report, authorities launched a search operation that located the victim near La Rehoyada park in the Cancun Crossroads area.

The located individual was taken to the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Kidnapping and Extortion Crimes, where he received medical, psychological, and legal assistance. Authorities reiterated calls for citizens not to fall for such scams, to report them immediately, and to remain alert to any phone extortion attempts.