Americans tourists warned of increased threat in summer vacation hotspot

With summertime question approaching, officials are issuing a information alert to Americans who are utilizing dating apps successful definite areas of Mexico, informing travelers to usage caution owed to a emergence successful kidnappings linked to the apps.

On Monday, the U.S. Embassy and consulates successful Mexico shared a information alert aft confirming "several reports of U.S. citizens being kidnapped by individuals the victims met connected dating apps successful caller months."

"You've got to beryllium careful, purchaser beware. You've got to presume that thing atrocious could hap to you successful this process," Bobby McDonald, a retired supervisory Secret Service cause and a lecturer successful transgression justness astatine the University of New Haven, shared with Fox News Digital astir dating app dangers.

"If you take to usage it, beryllium connected extra-high alert. Be other cautious of wherever you're gathering this idiosyncratic oregon persons. Make definite that it's successful a nationalist area. Make definite it's an country wherever you're going to person compartment telephone service. Make definite that you're conscionable watching retired for yourself, situational awareness. Be cautious and fto radical cognize wherever you are," McDonald urged.

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With summertime question approaching, officials are issuing a information alert to Americans who are utilizing dating apps successful definite areas of Mexico, informing travelers to usage caution owed to a emergence successful kidnappings linked to the apps. (Fox News/Alex Vros)

McDonald added that these dating apps are the latest ruse criminals are using.

"Apps are the adjacent level of places wherever criminals are going to beryllium capable to enactment connected their nefarious activities. And you've conscionable got to ticker out," McDonald said.  

"Again, there's not a full batch we tin bash with respect to those apps oregon getting escaped of them disconnected the kids' phones oregon people's phones. People person conscionable got to recognize wherever they are, what they're doing and beryllium acceptable to respond to a atrocious concern and fig retired however to get themselves retired of it connected the beforehand end," helium continued. 

The alert was issued for Puerto Vallarta and Nuevo Nayarit areas. 

The embassy said that "victims and their household members successful the United States person astatine times been extorted for ample sums of wealth to unafraid their release." 

"Please beryllium alert that this benignant of unit is not constricted to 1 geographic area," the embassy said.

The embassy added that travelers should usage caution erstwhile gathering strangers, encouraging meetings successful nationalist places and avoiding isolated locations, "such arsenic residences oregon edifice rooms, wherever crimes are astir apt to occur."

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"Apps are the adjacent level of places wherever criminals are going to beryllium capable to enactment connected their nefarious activities. And you've conscionable got to ticker out," said Bobby McDonald, a retired supervisory Secret Service agent. (iStock)

McDonald said that thing astir this alert amazed him.

"This is conscionable benignant of the adjacent iteration of what we request to interest astir erstwhile we're traveling, whether it's with our families, with our students going connected outpouring break, each of those benignant of things. There conscionable ever seems to beryllium a adjacent level of thing that we person to ticker retired about," McDonald said. 

Embassy officials did not specifically sanction which dating apps were progressive successful the alert. 

McDonald recommended that anyone traveling retired of the state oregon adjacent to a caller spot successful the United States "do a small spot of probe earlier you travel" and cognize what "the surrounding country of wherever you're staying is like."

"You request marque definite that you are cautious of your surroundings. You request to person the telephone fig of the U.S. Embassy oregon consulate connected your person. You request to marque definite that you've made other copies of your passport," McDonald said. "Not lone leaving a transcript astatine home, but having an other transcript with you."

McDonald added that travelers besides request to marque definite they are communicating with radical backmost location and letting them cognize wherever they're going and what they're doing portion connected abrogation connected these trips. 

"Just springiness radical immoderate accusation truthful that if, God forbid, thing does hap to you, oregon you find yourself successful a atrocious situation, there's idiosyncratic connected the extracurricular oregon backmost location that whitethorn beryllium capable to supply you immoderate assistance," McDonald said. 

What makes these situations adjacent much troublesome is that McDonald said that determination whitethorn beryllium nary entree to Wi-Fi wherever travelers are vacationing, particularly aft being abducted. 

"Depending upon your telephone plan, determination whitethorn not beryllium immoderate Wi-Fi successful the country that you're taken to disconnected of 1 of these areas oregon the resorts. So again, you privation to effort to minimize your quality to person thing hap to you," McDonald reiterated.

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The U.S. Embassy and consulates successful Mexico shared a information alert aft confirming "several reports of U.S. citizens being kidnapped by individuals the victims met connected dating apps successful caller months." (Adobe Stock)

While McDonald does not discourage traveling to areas extracurricular the country, helium said to conscionable beryllium mindful of your surroundings and implicit pass with loved ones.

"Again, bask the area. Enjoy what's retired there. Many places tin beryllium harmless arsenic agelong arsenic you're keeping yourself successful a harmless country and watching what you're doing, providing accusation to loved ones and friends, and conscionable making definite that you're enjoying yourself without putting yourself successful harm's way," helium said.

McDonald said what helium has seen successful his acquisition is kidnappings evolving into extortion.

"A batch of the issues are besides moving towards extortion, taking pictures of you oregon having you connected the phone, calling your parents oregon grandparents, asking them to ligament money. There's a batch of antithetic scams retired determination that you tin easy find yourself progressive with if you're not situationally alert of wherever you are and what's around," helium explained.

The U.S. Consulate General said it is reminding U.S. citizens that successful the State Department’s travel advisory for Mexico, Jalisco is classified arsenic "Level 3," which means "reconsider travel" owed to transgression and kidnapping. The bureau added that portion Jalisco is classified arsenic a higher threat, Nayarit is classified arsenic "Level 2," meaning, "exercise accrued caution" owed to crime. 

Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom are different countries that besides presently person Level 2 advisories from the State Department.

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The U.S. Consulate General said it is reminding U.S. citizens that successful the State Department’s travel advisory for Mexico, Jalisco is classified arsenic "Level 3," which means "reconsider travel" owed to transgression and kidnapping. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

The State Department said it reviews question advisories connected a regular ground and would update alerts "any clip conditions alteration substantially."

"The Department of State has nary higher precedence than the information and information of U.S. citizens overseas," a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

"We instrumentality earnestly our committedness to supply U.S. citizens with wide and reliable accusation astir each destination successful the satellite truthful they tin marque informed question decisions. We marque this accusation disposable to U.S. citizens truthful they tin beryllium alert of their surroundings and instrumentality indispensable precautions."

Level 1 and 2 advisories are reviewed each 12 months, portion Levels 3 and 4 are reviewed astatine slightest each six months, the section added.

The section besides said that the information alert issued by the embassy is simply a reminder for "U.S. citizens to usage caution erstwhile utilizing dating apps." 

McDonald said that portion helium feels travelers don't request to enactment excessively overmuch accent connected the informing levels and the semantics, doing probe anterior to traveling and speechmaking what the State Department is saying astir the country is important successful decision-making.

"If you're a small spot concerned, and you've done your probe connected the area, and you're checking retired what the State Department is saying, and they accidental ‘exercise accrued caution,’ that would accidental to me, ‘Hey, possibly you privation to postpone your travel to that area,’" McDonald said. "That means that that country is connected the radar, things are happening determination oregon the imaginable for much things to hap determination are retired there."

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McDonald added that determination are galore harmless places for travelers to flight to, and it's conscionable a substance of being prepared. 

"We request to beryllium capable to take wisely erstwhile we're picking our abrogation times, and erstwhile determination are advisories retired determination similar this, we request to beryllium cognizant of the information that you don't privation to measurement yourself into an country that mightiness beryllium having accrued occupation astatine the moment," McDonald said. 

"It's situational awareness, cognition of your area, a small spot of homework connected the beforehand end, and you tin hopefully person a precise harmless and enjoyable vacation."