[ cheers and applause ] this is "nightline." tonight -- >> my name is peter theo curtis, i'm a journalist in the city of boston, massachusetts, usa. >> taken by terrorists. his mother speaks for the first time about what it really takes to get a prisoner out alive. with lives on the line it's big business. possible blood money. we're going inside the world of the hostage negotiator. takeout takedown. think you're getting a great deal delivered? >> you give them your credit card information and nothing comes because it's a thief. >> potential predators have all kinds of ways to get their hands on your money. watch when authorities say these two were caught red-handed on camera. who is miley cyrus' mystery man? we knew she could shock us, we just didn't know she could do it

like this. thirs tfirst the "nightline" >> number (vo) ours is a world of the red-eyes. (daughter) i'm really tired. (vo) the transfers. well, that's kid number three. (vo) the co-pilots.

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enterprise and you're about to meet a mom who lived every parent's worst nightmare when her journalist son was taken by terrorists. so how did he get out alive? here's abc's chief investigative correspondent brian ross. >> my name is peter theo curtis, i'm a journalist from the city of boston, massachusetts, usa. >> reporter: a hostage video sent by al qaeda in syria. and the beginning of a two-year nightmare for freelance journalist peter theo curtis and his family that has now finally ended with his release. >> he's been through so much. so many terrible things that i don't know about and don't really want to know about. >> reporter: today, curtis' mother told amy row back of abc news about the agonizing months when she did not know what would almost to her son. >> those days had to be excruciating. >> they were excruciating. it was a real roller coaster. but i was getting words of reassurance if i didn't hear something of course i would worry maybe something would go wrong.

but -- you know. theo's case, it turned out all right. >> reporter: al qaeda and other terror groups have turned hostage-taking into a thriving business, putting the captive's families, their employers, and their government in the difficult positions of negotiating with people who put little value on human life. >> if you accept the demands i live, if you don't accept the demands then i die. >> i think most people would say, i value life, i want to get them out, i'll do what i have to do. and please help me. and that's what we do. >> reporter: former fbi agent jack clunin works as a full-time negotiator who's helped gain the release of more than 150 kidnap victims including one european journalist held by isis. >> there is reason to negotiate with them, you can talk to them, and you are going to be treated very badly on the phone. you are going to receive e-mails, you're going to receive videos, you're going to do everything that you possibly can

do to keep that information stream alive. >> reporter: for the european journalist who had been set free by isis, clunin says the average ransom is about $2 million in cash, u.s. >> they don't take a wire transfer, they don't take credit cards, they don't take euros. they want cash. but you are held at their mercy. so imagine trying to move a sum of money around like that in a war zone. >> reporter: he says the actual exchange with isis often takes place near certain border crossings with turkey. >> this is an expanse of territory that's basically considered no man's zone. then you're going to have to move them probably under the cover of darkness, which they control. >> reporter: in the case of james foley, isis made a ransom demand of some $130 million. plus the release of certain al qaeda pricer ins. he says isis wants more than ransom for its american hostages.

>> let's be brutally honest. this is a game of revenge. and revenge is sweet to them. and they want to take it. we are in their minds the worst people on the face of the earth. >> reporter: british authorities today were focusing on neighborhoods in london where several hundred young muslim men have been recruited to become some of the most brutal jihadists in the isis organization, including this man. one-time rapper known on youtube as l-ginny whose father is awaiting trial in new york for the al qaeda attacks on u.s. embassies in after that. two weeks ago there was this el ginny posting showing the severed head of a syrian soldier saying "beheading is the only cure." >> the only source of identity is a very extreme and arguably manipulated version of islam that says, i don't belong to any nation, i'm only loyal to islam, and america is our principal

enemy. >> reporter: british authorities don't believe the rapper was the executioner of james foley but they say they are close to figuring out who he is. starting with the eyes of the hooded man, advanced facial recognition experts created this likeness of the possible killer. clean shaven, then with a moustache. whoever he is london radical muslim cleric says foley's death could have been prevented if the u.s. had negotiated with isis over the release of prisoners held by the u.s. >> his life could have been saved. however gruesome it may look, however much it may have shocked the world, the fact is they're the circumstances and we can't ignore those. >> reporter: with american journalists held hostage by isis the debate has been raised anew about whether to negotiate with terrorists. >> it's the code of honor. if we ask people to do extraordinary things, if things go wrong we have to do extraordinary things to get them back. >> reporter: abc news foreign editor john williams dealt with the issue when he worked at the

bbc and helped gain the freedom of bbc correspondent alan johnston in gaza. >> they said he'd been executed. he hasn't. but they said he had been executed. and so when eventually a video emerged of alan, we were thrilled. >> they've fed me well, there's been no violence towards me at all. >> just to see him alive? >> because we had convinced ourselves and his parents had convinced themselves that he was dead. so everybody thinks the hostage videos are a terrible thing. actually, to those who are closest to the kidnap victim, they're proof of life. >> free alan now! >> reporter: as johnston spent almost 114 days in captivity, the bbc negotiated online. >> it turned out the message was coming from an intermediary sitting in germany. he was talking to us and talking to the kidnappers. and then channeling the messages from one to another. >> reporter: ultimately, the bbc

reporter was freed. but only after the terror group hamas interceded on his behalf. >> for the last week i've thought of very little else, that hall lan was kidnapped for 114 days, jim felly had been in for nearly two years. i think it's hard to overstate the burden that that puts on someone who is living through a kidnap. >> reporter: a burden at least three more american families are facing tonight. for "nightline," brian ross, abc news, new york. >> and our thoughts go out to those families tonight. thanks to brian ross for that report. up next for us, ready for one last summer vacation? ingenious scammers are looking for ways to take advantage of travelers. what to watch out for coming up next. of erectile dysfunction. ome degree talk to your doctor, if viagra is right for you, you can fill your prescription at your pharmacy,

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what's worse than waiting for your food to be delivered? how about if it never shows up? now, some of those flyers under your door are more than just annoying. they could be helping crooks pull off a fast food fast one. and that's not the only way clever scammers can come after your money. so before you head off for that last summer holiday, how can you protect yourself from those seriously sneaky schemes? here's abc's linsey davis. >> one of my favorite restaurants. >> reporter: it began as a fun trip for this mother-daughter duo. but for chris and katie they stay at their new orleans hotel turned into a nightmare. >> it's about midnight. and our hotel room phone rings. and it's one of the ladies from

the front desk. explaining, i need your card number to put on file, otherwise, you need to get out of the room. and i was like, oh, my. okay, this lady's serious. i gave her my card number. and -- and that was that. >> reporter: so sate katie gave card number and went back to sleep. the next morning -- >> i woke up and thought to myself, there's something sketchy about that call. she checks her bank account and realizes all her money is gone. >> reporter: turns out it wasn't the hotel front desk. katie had given her information to a scammer and this particular scam is so common, many hotels, including the one chris and katie stayed at, post warnings about it. the american hotel and lodging industry says it provides regular updates to hoteliers on scammers targeting hotel guests. like this one, the pizza scam. >> you'll find flyers under your door when you check into the

hotel. you call, you give them your credit card information, you order your pizza. nothing comes. >> because they're really not a restaura restaurant? >> it's nothing, it's a thief. there's the wi-fi scam. that's where you, in your hotel, you're searching for a wi-fi system, you find the system you think is the hotel's wi-fi system. but it isn't. be very careful with the kind of information that you provide. and the kind of things that you do. stay away from banking transactions. maybe don't look at your e-mail. >> reporter: in a statement to abc news, a representative from the st. christopher hotel writes "every guest who checks into our hotel is given a credit card scam letter making the guest aware of the scam and advising the guest not to divulge any credit card or other sensitive information." but they say they didn't see the warning letter until it was too late. and it's not just at hotels where you can fall victim to these kinds of scams.

as millions of americans hit the road next week for the labor day weekend, thieves are also preying on atm machines and gas stations with a practice called skimming. >> i knew it was stealing, i knew it was wrong. >> reporter: dan is a reformed credit card hacker who got busted and switched sides to avoid prison time. >> i was printing my own fake credit cards. i would go to the store, purchase electronics, i would resell them. >> reporter: he spent two years training agents in the dark arts of skimming. he spoke to my colleague nick watt. >> the atm cashing was the easiest way. i was making thousands a day in cash doing that. >> reporter: his favorite target, gas stations. installing gadgets like this one inside the pumps. >> gas station skimming is one of the easiest and best ways of doing it. it's hidden, the person using it will never see it, it takes seconds to open it up and put it in there. this is a reader that would be inside the gas pump. you would swipe it through and it would read it right here.

nobody would know the difference. >> reporter: when investigators at the arizona department of weights and measures -- >> we're checking for skimming devices. >> reporter: -- found a skimmer inside this gas pump, they decided it was time to fight fire with fire. >> we inserted one of these little night vision spy cams in the back of the dispenser. >> reporter: and bingo. here's the view from that camera inside. apparently showing a man and woman team caught red handed. >> what we have here action we have the guy. it's awesome. >> reporter: they start bickering when they can't find any of their devices. >> so it's almost like a husband and wife team arguing about where their skimmer is, because somebody got it. that was us, we got it. >> reporter: law enforcement is still on the hunt for mr. and mrs. skimmer. but in the meantime, there are some things you can and should do to protect your digits. rule number one, never give credit card information over the

phone once you've checked into a room. >> go to the front desk. you want to see the person who is getting this information from you. i tell family members, friends, don't say anything over the telephone. >> reporter: number two, check in with a credit card instead of a debit card. >> they can move that money out of your bank account in the blink of an eye. >> reporter: if you're fueling up, choose the pump near the attendant, crooks prefer to operate in the shadows. or pay in cash. lastly, no matter where you are, check your account. a lot. most companies will erase any fraudulent charges on your credit card if you report them within 60 days. >> the best places, the most secure locations, things like this can potentially happen. >> reporter: the mother and daughter, they say their trip was ruined. >> we were especially embarrassed because we consider ourselves savvy to that sort of thing. you know. we couldn't possibly be scammed. like we would fall for that. >> reporter: the advice we heard action it's fine to let your

hair down on vacation but don't let down your guard. nor for "nightline," i'm linsey davis in new york. it wasn't a racy dress or a new celebrity hookup that had everybody talking at the vmas. how miley cyrus stole the show without even getting on stage. ♪ ♪ it's time to bring it out in the open. it's time to drop your pants for underwareness, a cause to support the over 65 million people who may need depend underwear. show them they're not alone and show off a pair of depend. because wearing a different kind of underwear, is no big deal. join us. support the cause and get a free sample of depend at underwareness.com save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.d everybody knows that.

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miley cyrus often leaves us speechless with her antics. but at this year's vmas the pop princess found a new way to cause a stir. and this time she says it's all for a good cause. you might call it deja vu. it's one day after the vmas and miley cyrus is dominating the pop news cycle. but there was no twerking, no phone finger waving this time. ♪ i came in like a wrecking ball ♪ >> reporter: when "wrecking ball" won the coveted moon man for video of the year -- >> miley cyrus, "wrecking ball." >> reporter: instead of going onstage she decided to let this

homeless man accept her award for her. >> my name is jesse. and i am accepting this award on behalf of the 1.6 million runaways and homeless youth in the united states. who are starving, lost and scared for their lives right now. i know this because i'm one of these people. >> reporter: his name is jesse help, a 22-year-old from salem, oregon. aspiring model he had a page on the website modelmay pem. his mom told "the oregonian" newspaper at one point he was living in a bush. tears began to stream down miley's face as the pop star watched from the audience. >> i've survived in shelters, cleaned your hotel rooms, been an extra in your movies. >> reporter: paid homage to marlon brando who sent a homeless woman to collect an award. a protest against the movie

industry's treatment of native americans. jesse and his speech asking people to check out miley's facebook page where she posted a video about youth homelessness. >> right here in l.a. a few miles from where i live there are young people who are just like you and me with huge dreams. >> reporter: after the show, miley instagramed a picture with the man she called her hero at in-and-out burger celebrating her big night. she's received wide-ranging prays from supporters like maria shriver the whiting, smart use of air time. and susan sarandon, thanks miley sigh yus for making the invisible homeless visible. a shark different from the media firestorm she generated from last year's widely panned performance. the vmas are synonymous with shocking surprises. who could forget kanye's outburst against taylor swift a few years back. >> beyonce had one of the best videos of all time! >> reporter: or britney and madonna's infamous girl kiss. miley says this isn't a one-time

media stunt. >> this is just the beginning for me so we've got to start somewhere. specifically i want us to focus on my friend's place, a homeless center for young people in hollywood. >> reporter: those who donate will get the chance to hang out backstage at her concert in brazil. the homeless organization my friend's place told abc news they've already raised over $200,000 in 24 hours. >> a dream you dream alone is only a dream. but a dream we dream together is reality. >> reporter: which goes to show that going off-script for a good cause can have its rewards. >> what a difference a year makes, going from naughty to noble. talk about an image makeover for miss miley. thanks for watching abc news. "world news now" coming up with overnight breaking news. tune into "good morning america" tomorrow. and as always we are online at abcnews.com. good night, america. we'll see you back here tomorrow night.

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