Kidnap & Ransom is a Multi-Billion Dollar Industry Worldwide. Are You Prepared?
by Beth Torvell
Kidnapping is a serious business. As with any major industry there are established actors and disruptive upstarts, some sharing of innovations, shifts in how technology is used, and lots, and lots of money.
The UN reported in October 2014 that Daesh had made between $35 million and $45 million (USD) in ransoms in the preceding 12 months. This figure is an expert estimate for the revenue of one group in one theatre in one year. Add in Southeast Asia, where Abu Sayyaf and other militants groups are very active. Then West Africa, South Africa, Central America and South America and you are looking at an industry with an annual turnover in the billions of dollars.
Not all kidnapping cases make it to the police — many are resolved privately without the involvement of law enforcement. This may be because the police or security forces are in some way involved or are not trusted to do their job, or because those involved feel it might be faster, easier, safer or more discreet to pay off the kidnappers. (Please note — if you are ever in this situation, speak to an expert.)
Many cases will pass with barely a whisper in the press. The analysis and insurance companies that work these cases no longer publish the statistics in full — we get snapshots of what has happened, often after it has concluded. As a result it is hard to put an accurate figure on the number of kidnappings and abductions around the world, but in some areas it is uncomfortably high.
Trawling through the news alerts as (former) editor of KR Magazine, I would read about the abductions of IT experts (Libya, Egypt, India), engineers (Libya, Nigeria, Iraq), aid workers (Mali, Yemen, Afghanistan, DRC), and construction workers (Nigeria, Indonesia). The payment of ransoms further fueled insurgencies and unrest in these countries and beyond (Philippines, Nigeria, Iraq and Syria).
For the overwhelming majority of people, the risk of abduction remains incredibly (almost negligibly) low. But as soon as you have something of value to other people — money, information, access, belongings, even your body — your risk creeps up. If you visit a country that does not have rigorous and reliable law enforcement, that risk creeps up again. If you go for the ostrich approach, sticking your head in the sand and pretending bad things will not happen, your risk increases again.
KNOW YOUR RISKS
No one thinks bad things will happen to them. It is what we tell ourselves so that we can keep going. Many of us are guilty of cutting corners and justifying those choices when nothing untoward occurs.
Before you travel, run through the following questions and suggestions — they will help you to gauge your levels of risk and to take some steps to mitigate it.
What are you worth?
People are nearly always abducted because they have something that the kidnapper wants. While money is a key component of this, it also goes far beyond cash. What do you know? Who do you know? Does your company handle contracts for a large bank? Is your father-in-law a leading figure in industry? Work out how you could be exploited — either as the target or as leverage on the target.
Do your homework.
Where are you going and what will you be doing there? Research your destination. Know about the culture, the security situation, the political backdrop. Is the local law enforcement reliable? Will you be travelling through trouble hotspots? How secure is your accommodation? Have your plans been shared via social media or a company press release? If something bad happens, who do you call?
Even if you are travelling to a familiar city or country, keep an eye on the local news. Unrest or local gang violence may not make national or international news.
If you are travelling for work to an area that has a known risk of kidnapping and abduction, make sure appropriate measures are in place. Your company may not be able to tell you if they have kidnap and ransom insurance (knowledge of the policy can invalidate some policies, as this is information the kidnappers could exploit), but they do have a duty of care to make sure you are properly prepared and supported.
Ask for a briefing. Ask for training. If you have had a briefing and/or training and feel that it was insufficient, speak up. Your safety trumps office politics. The best time to address this is when you are safely in your office, weeks away from a trip. Experts will be able to give you sensible and actionable advice to help keep you safe for the duration of your trip.
If you are travelling to an area with a known risk of kidnapping for pleasure, do your research. (And maybe listen to your mother when she asks you why you are going there.) Do not expect people to tell you if your plan is really dangerous. If you are old enough to go somewhere by yourself, you are old enough to do the background research. If you don’t know the answer to something, find someone who does know the answer.
Prepare properly.
Abduction is a very small slice of the potential risks travellers face. These five preparation steps apply just as much to other potential issues as they do to kidnapping.
Know who you will call at 3am when the brown stuff has hit the rotating thing. This can be as simple as a friend or family member agreeing to keep their phone on while they sleep or you can invest in support from experts, such as the Travel ID card offered by Nomad SOS. Make sure that even if you are separated from that phone number, you know it off by heart.
If you are travelling independently, consider investing in quality training and/or support. Good training will stay with you and be useful across your travelling lifetime. Consider it an insurance policy that will not expire.
If you are travelling for business and have not been offered this already, ask for it. Employers should provide it as part of their duty of care.
Speaking of insurance, make sure you have sensible and appropriate travel insurance that is in date and covers your full trip. Do not go for the cheapest option — consider the activities you are planning and the activities you might possibly do. Read the small print and know what is and is not covered. Know how to contact you insurance company and when you would need to do this — some companies require you to call them before receiving medical treatment that you may wish to claim for at a later date.
Make a copy of your essential travel documents and give this to someone you trust. Make sure you know how to contact this person off by heart. If you lose all your belongings you should contact your embassy and have them contact that trusted person, who will then be able to verify your identity.
Use your common sense.
Behaviour that is risky at home will remain risky elsewhere — with the added complication that you may not fully understand the nuances of the local context and culture. If a situation makes you uneasy, find a polite and unobtrusive way to leave. If you are making a journey and have concerns, agree a time that you will check in with your trusted person and what steps they should take if you do not make that check in. When you check in, get them to ask a question that only you would know the answer to.
Prepare and then relax.
Preparing before a trip is like packing an invisible safety net — you hope you will never have to use it, but just knowing it is there to catch you will offer considerable peace of mind.
“Travel broadens our horizons, reinforces our faith in humanity and underlines how much we all have in common. This seems increasingly essential and we must remember that despite the headlines and the gloom, the world remains a vibrant and enjoyable place.”
Safe travels!
Beth is the former Chief Editor of KR Magazine and now runs a valuable resource for travelers, Safe Travels Magazine. In a shifting and uncertain world, Safe Travels Magazine offers an open source security briefing for people who want to know a little more before they travel. It’s free to read, sign up for Daily Updates and a Weekly K+R Update.
