Editing Kidnapping (section)

=== Ransom ===
The kidnapping of a person, most often an adult, for ransom is a common motivation behind kidnapping. This method is primarily utilized by larger organizations, such as criminal gangs, terrorist organizations, or insurgent groups.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Welsh |first=Blair |date=2024 |title=Taking Civilians: Terrorist Kidnapping in Civil War |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqae074 |journal=International Studies Quarterly |volume=68 |issue=2 |doi=10.1093/isq/sqae074 |issn=0020-8833|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Gilbert |first=Danielle |date=November 2022 |title=The Logic of Kidnapping in Civil War: Evidence from Colombia |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/logic-of-kidnapping-in-civil-war-evidence-from-colombia/906B5C3924A9EFE7E63A8646BFCF752E |journal=American Political Science Review |language=en |volume=116 |issue=4 |pages=1226–1241 |doi=10.1017/S0003055422000041 |issn=0003-0554|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Typically this is done for financial incentive, with sums of money varying depending on the victim or the method of kidnapping.

[[List of gangs in Mexico|Mexican gangs]] are estimated to have made up to $250 million in kidnappings from [[Central America]]n migrants.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Stargardter |first1=Gabriel |last2=Gardner |first2=Simon |title=Mexican Gangs Could Be Making Up To $250 Million A Year By Abusing And Extorting Migrants |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/r-migrants-snared-in-multi-million-dollar-kidnap-racket-on-us-mexico-border-2014-10 |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref>

According to a 2022 study by political scientist Danielle Gilbert, armed groups in Colombia engage in ransom kidnappings as a way to maintain the armed groups' local systems of taxation. The groups resort to ransom kidnappings to punish [[tax evasion]] and incentivize inhabitants not to shirk.<ref name=":1" /> A 2024 study argued that insurgent groups are more likely to engage in kidnappings "under two conditions: to generate support and reinstate bargaining capacity when organizations suffer military losses on the battlefield and to enforce loyalties and display strength when organizations face violent competition from other non-state actors."<ref name=":0" />

Kidnapping has been identified as one source by which terrorist organizations have been known to obtain funding.<ref>{{cite web |author=Perri, Frank S. |author2=Lichtenwald, Terrance G. |author3=MacKenzie, Paula M. |year=2009 |title=Evil Twins: The Crime-Terror Nexus |url=https://www.all-about-psychology.com/support-files/crime-terror-nexus.pdf |work=Forensic Examiner |pages=16–29}}</ref>

[[Express kidnapping]] is a method of abduction used in some countries, mainly from [[Latin America]],<ref>{{cite news |author1=Garcia Jr |author2=Juan A. |title=Express kidnappings |url=https://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/v_12/issue_14/business_05.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070730214339/https://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/v_12/issue_14/business_05.html |archive-date=July 30, 2007 |access-date=December 7, 2006 |publisher=Thepanamanews.com}}</ref> where a small ransom, that a company or family can easily pay, is demanded. Express kidnapping is also used for an immediate ransom in which the victim is taken to an ATM and forced to give the captor money.

[[Tiger kidnapping]] occurs when a person is kidnapped, and the captor forces them to commit a crime such as robbery or murder. The victim is held [[hostage]] until the captor's demands are met. The term originates from the usually long preceding observation, like a tiger does when stalking prey. This is a method which has been used by the [[Real Irish Republican Army]] and the [[Continuity Irish Republican Army]].

[[Virtual kidnapping]] is a unique form of kidnapping that has risen in recent years. Unlike previous forms of kidnapping, virtual kidnapping does not actually involve a victim of any kind. The scam involves a process of calling numerous people on the phone and making them believe the caller has a victim's loved one, such as a child, in order to gain a quick ransom from the victim. Previously these calls used to affect Spanish speaking communities in large cities, such as Los Angeles or Houston. Until around 2015 when the calls started to be directed to English speakers as well. Around 80 victims were identified as falling for this scam, with losses ranging close to $100,000. While most perpetrators behind this scam can be linked back to Mexico, one instance occurred in Houston, Texas. Yanette Rodriguez Acosta was found guilty of accosting victims for large sums of money, which she would pick up at a set drop off of point.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 16, 2017 |title=Virtual Kidnapping: A New Twist on a Frightening Scam |url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/virtual-kidnapping |access-date=October 13, 2024 |website=fbi.gov}}</ref> She was sentenced to seven years in prison, with an additional three years of supervision following her release.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-09-20 |title=Southern District of Texas {{!}} Texas Woman Sentenced in Virtual Kidnapping Extortion Scheme {{!}} United States Department of Justice |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/texas-woman-sentenced-virtual-kidnapping-extortion-scheme |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=www.justice.gov |language=en}}</ref>

In the past, and presently in some parts of the world (such as southern [[Sudan]]), kidnapping is a common means used to obtain [[Slavery|slaves]] and money through ransom. In the 19th century, kidnapping in the form of [[Shanghai (verb)|shanghaiing]] (or "[[Impressment|pressganging]]") men supplied merchant ships with [[sailor]]s, whom the law considered [[unfree labour]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shanghaiing - FoundSF |url=https://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=Shanghaiing#:~:text=As%20the%20demand%20for%20sailors,on%20outbound%20ships,%20became%20common. |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=www.foundsf.org}}</ref>