Kai Zhuang, a Chinese exchange student, was found alive in the United States after his parents paid thousands of dollars in a “cyberkidnapping” scam. Kai was found “very cold and scared” in a tent in rural Utah, Riverdale police reported.
It is believed that the 17-year-old teenager isolated himself in the mountains after being deceived by cybercriminals. Kai’s parents told school officials that they had received a ransom demand and a photograph of his son indicating that he had been kidnapped.
According to the police, in the cyber kidnapping Victims are convinced to isolate themselves and even have photographs taken to make it appear they are captive, even though the kidnappers are not present. Meanwhile, the victim is monitored through FaceTime o Skype.
Both the victim and his family are convinced that the other will be harmed if they do not comply with the kidnappers’ demands. According to local police, Kai’s parents were tricked into paying around US$80,000 into bank accounts in China.
Riverdale police said in a statement that Kai is one of many Chinese students who have been targeted. cyber hijackers in the United States in the last times.
Police believe Kai was being monitored by cybercriminals since December 20, when he was spotted by officers in Provo, Utah, carrying camping gear.
Those police officers organized his return to Riverdale – where he lived with a foster family – out of concern for his safety. However, at that moment Kai did not mention any threat.
On December 28, the school the teenager attended contacted police, who had in turn been contacted by his parents from China. Kai’s parents informed the school officials that they had received a ransom demand and a photo of his son, which indicated that he had been kidnapped.
Even though the kidnappers were not with Kai, Utah police remained concerned for his safety, as December temperatures pose a risk.freeze to death overnight”. Kai was found on Sunday about 40 km north of Riverdale, near Brigham City, in a tent.
He had little food and water, a thermal blanket and a sleeping bag, as well as several phones, which police suspect were used to carry out the virtual kidnapping. After rescuing him, Kai was tested for hypothermia, asked for a “hot cheeseburger” and to talk to his family.
According to police forces in several countries, Chinese students in the West are falling victim to cyber hijackers.
In September 2023, the UK’s South Yorkshire Police Fraud Coordination Team issued a warning urging international students moving to Sheffield to be on the lookout for scammers. They said the scams were primarily aimed at Chinese students.
In some cases, the victim receives a call from the scammer claiming to be from the Chinese embassy, Immigration or Customs Enforcement, Chinese police, or postal services.
They claim they are investigating an international crime and demand that the victim transfer large sums of money to an account in China. The South Yorkshire Police said offenders in some cases use threats to get the victim to cooperate.
In Australia, New South Wales police warned in October 2023 that “Virtual kidnapping” scams were becoming increasingly sophisticated and that many originate in mainland China.
In 2020, New South Wales Police issued a warning about an elaborate phone scam targeting Chinese students, after at least eight cases of “virtual kidnapping” were confirmed, with more than $1,355,538 paid in kidnapping ransoms. that never happened.
In August 2023, the Japan Times reported that some Chinese students in Japan had been blackmailed by scammers under similar circumstances.
In one case, the parents of a Chinese student paid US$42,300 to a bank account in China after receiving a photograph in which his daughter appeared to have been attacked.
It later turned out that the student had received a threatening call from a person claiming to be a Chinese public security official.
The person told the student that an arrest warrant had been issued for her and that she should stage a fake kidnapping so that her parents would pay the money necessary for her to avoid arrest.
Law enforcement is urging Chinese international students to screen the calls they receive, check any “official” requests at their local consulate, and report to police if they are a target of such a scam.
By Flora Drury