According to the Australian police, a number of Chinese students in Sydney were recently targeted in a scam in which they were forced to “kidnap” themselves, and ask their parents for ransom. In one case, a frantic father sent USD 2 million to the scammers. According to Australian police Detective Chief Superintendent Darren Bennett, some “[families]have basically paid every cent they’ve got.”
The Australian government official reports that there have been a total of 8 cases reported, with over USD 3.2 million transferred to the blackmailers. The scams appear to have been conducted through encrypted apps such as WeChat or WhatsApp, making them more difficult to trace. The victims were usually first approached by a Mandarin-speaking person, who pretended to be from the Chinese authorities or Embassy, and told that they were involved in a crime back in China.
Students are coerced into faking kidnapping pictures
The scammers then threatened the students, saying that the only way to get out of trouble was to pay a huge ransom, lest they be arrested or deported. If the students were not initially convinced, the scammers then continued the harassment with more threats, until the victims complied. The victims were told to move into a hotel and pose for a kidnapping picture, or send a voice mail to their families in China asking for help.
A student bounded in a hotel room
After making contact with their families, they were then instructed to cut off any contact with the outside world, and to stay in the hotel, thereby cutting them off from their families, who may have helped them realized that they were being scammed.
Most of these cases were not initially reported to the police because the victims felt embarrassed. While the scammers are yet to be caught, the Australian police are currently working with Chinese forces to break the case.
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