 They're threatened with deportation, they're threatened with arrest of themselves or their family members if they don't pay large sums of money. In some cases, victims believe they're paying bail, but then they're asked for more. When the victims themselves cannot meet the demands and basically have exhausted all their financial funds is when the scam escalates to a virtual kidnap. The scammers convince their victims that the best way to get more money is to pretend to be kidnapped.