In September, a PNC bank manager and her two young children were kidnapped from their Lusby home and forced to take $169,000 from the bank where she worked. More real life “tiger kidnaps” show that the threat is for real.

Tiger kidnap:
“The abduction or holding of a hostage (or claim of having done so) with the intention of forcing an employee, relative or another to facilitate the immediate theft of any valuables; or concede some other form of ransom from any institution or business organisation”

Is it a growing theat? Without law enforcement statistics specifically on this type of crime, that is a difficult call. It is a real threat for sure; especially the financial industry has been targeted. The first money spent on protection is usually to protect from “outside threat”. The inside threat is sometimes underestimated. And an inside threat against the company is exactly what tiger kidnappers aim to achieve. While with the proper risk assessments and procedures you can prepare yourself for these scenario’s, it is a long way from home for a lot of managers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_kidnapping
http://www.crg.com/pdf/tiger_kidnap_report_LR.pdf
http://wjz.com/local/bank.robbery.family.2.895675.html
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=598&sid=1559628
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/ireland/article1265444.ece
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/6920668.stm
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jFTos7ub7PWeJxeZuAw3NEQGOoZQ