Yucatán Police Warn Businesses and Hotels of Phone Extortion and Virtual Kidnapping Scams

Mérida, Yucatán — The Yucatán Public Security Department has stepped up preventive measures against phone scams, extortion and virtual kidnappings after meeting with security managers from shopping malls, hotels, supermarkets and gated residential communities across the state.

During the briefing, department specialists detailed tactics used by scammers who make phone calls or use other deceptive methods to obtain information about employees, customers or residents — data that can later be exploited to pressure victims or commit fraud.

One practice highlighted at the meeting was impersonation. In those cases, callers pretend to be a company executive, a relative or another trusted contact to create a false sense of urgency and obtain money, property or sensitive information. The department advised recipients to remain calm and verify the caller’s identity through a separate channel before complying with any request.

The department also called on businesses, hotels and residential complexes to establish internal confirmation protocols, restrict access to sensitive data and avoid making deposits, transfers or cash deliveries when a communication feels pressured or suspicious.

The meeting included specialists from the C5i emergency coordination center, the Scientific Investigation Police and the department’s Private Security Unit, along with representatives from the National Association of Self-Service and Department Stores (ANTAD).

The department said coordination with the commercial, hotel and residential sectors aims to spread these preventive measures among employees and residents, particularly as scammers increasingly use personal details to make their schemes more credible. It urged anyone facing an attempted extortion, phone scam or virtual kidnapping to report it immediately to 9-1-1 or anonymously to 089.