The FBI warns of criminals altering images shared on social media and using them as fake proof of life photos in virtual kidnapping ransom scams.

This is part of a public service announcement published today about criminals contacting victims via text message, claiming to have kidnapped a family member and demanding ransom payments.

However, as the FBI explained, virtual kidnapping scams involve no actual abduction. Instead, criminals use manipulated images found on social networks and publicly available information to create convincing scenarios designed to pressure victims into paying ransoms before verifying that their loved ones are safe.

“Criminal actors typically will contact their victims through text message claiming they have kidnapped their loved one and demand a ransom be paid for their release,” the FBI said on Friday.

“Oftentimes, the criminal actor will express significant claims of violence towards the loved one if the ransom is not paid immediately. The criminal actor will then send what appears to be a genuine photo or video of the victim’s loved one, which upon close inspection often reveals inaccuracies when compared to confirmed photos of the loved one.”

The law enforcement agency advised the public to be cautious of scammers who often create a false sense of urgency and to carefully assess the validity of the kidnappers’ claims.

To defend against such scams, the FBI recommends taking several protective measures, such as avoiding providing personal information to strangers while traveling and establishing a code word known only to the family to verify communications during emergencies.

Additionally, when sharing information about missing persons online, one should remain vigilant, as scammers might reach out with false information.

The FBI also recommends taking screenshots or recording proof-of-life photos whenever possible for later analysis during investigations, since scammers sometimes deliberately send these photos using timed message features to limit the time victims have to analyze the images.

While the FBI didn’t share how many complaints regarding these virtual kidnapping scams have been filed with its Internet Crime Complaint Center or how widespread this type of fraud is at the moment, BleepingComputer has found multiple instances of people targeted by similar scams that spoofed their loved ones’ phone numbers.