Wealthy South Africans Targeted by Kidnappers

May 10 - It has been reported that there were around 30,000 kidnappings around the world in 2009, and that number will only increase as crime rates go up around the world.

While Columbia, Mexico and Bagdad share the unwelcome title of 'kidnapping capitals of the world', South Africa is unfortunately creeping up on the list of countries where this crime is becoming more common.

According to Guardrisk Allied Products and Services, a subsidiary of the Guardrisk Security Company (which forms part of the Alexander Forbes Group), "increasingly in South Africa, wealthy individuals or business executives and their families are targeted for ransoms of anywhere between R100,000 and several million Rand."

Another common form of kidnapping involves removing a child by force from upmarket schools around South Africa and then demanding a ransom of up to R40,000.

Wally Thom, speaking for Guardrisk Allied Products, said that another kind of crime is known as Express Kidnappings, "with victims driven to an ATM to withdraw cash, or held at home while the kidnappers drive to a cash point to withdraw money, after which the victim is then released."

Many South Africans need to travel abroad for work purposes, and when it comes to entering areas that are know for their high rate of kidnappings, it is imperative that their companies get the right advice.

"Many local companies have found themselves, for the first time, having to deal with local or international kidnappers, law enforcement agencies, relevant governments and the media," according to Thom.