The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a public service announcement on Friday. Scammers target vulnerable families of missing persons using information shared on social media. The FBI has shared several representative examples for this type of extortion attempts going back as far as 2018. The scammers will also frequently claim the missing person is injured or ill and can’t reach out to their family, thus adding urgency to the situation and pressuring family members to pay ransoms ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 in ransom.
Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/fbi-warns-of-scammers-targeting-families-of-missing-persons/