A Chinese teenager has returned safely after an “online kidnapping”. Never heard of “cyber kidnapping”? Well, it’s an early leader in the hot new cybercrime trends of 2024.
Police in the small community of Riverdale, Utah For example Kai Zhuang, a 17-year-old Chinese exchange student, was the victim of a criminal conspiracy in which online villains convinced him to trek into the mountains and stay there while they extorted tens of thousands of dollars from his family.
Riverdale police were initially contacted about Zhuang’s disappearance on Dec. 28, when his high school reported him missing. School officials told authorities that the victim’s family had contacted them and said they had received a photo of the victim showing “that he had been kidnapped.”
Police later contacted Zhuang’s host family in Riverdale, who told them they had not realized he was missing and that he had only returned home the night before. Mr Zhuang’s real family in China told police they had handed over as much as $80,000 to criminals as part of an extortion plot linked to his disappearance.
Working with the FBI and Chinese authorities, local police searched the victim’s phone and financial records and discovered he had recently visited the local canyon area. They then launched a search and rescue operation in the area and found Zhuang in a tent on the mountain. Zhuang was described as “cold and scared” without any source of heat other than a blanket and “limited food and water.” He also had several mobile phones, which police speculated were used to communicate with “cyber kidnappers.”
riverdale police department Press release More details have been provided about this bizarre trend of “cyberkidnapping”, in which criminals use online manipulation to isolate victims and continue to convince their families that they are being held against their will. . Police said the FBI briefed them on “troubling criminal trends” and told them such incidents had occurred numerous times in the United States. The press release is as follows:
Online kidnappers have been targeting foreign exchange students, especially Chinese exchange students. Kidnappers threaten young exchange students and their families and demand ransom. They told the victim to self-isolate and monitored them via Facetime and/or Skype. Online kidnappers convince victims under duress to take photos of themselves to make it appear they are being held captive and send the photos to their parents. Victims comply out of fear that their family members will be harmed if they do not comply with the demands of their online kidnappers.
It all sounds nefarious, even though the entire criminal scheme seems to hinge on whether the victim believes the “kidnapper” poses a legitimate threat. In short: If someone calls you and tries to convince you to hike into the mountains alone, my advice is to hang up immediately and block their number. You’ll save yourself a lot of trouble.
