NSW Police warn about bizarre rise in ‘virtual kidnappings’ targeting Chinese students in Australia

Authorities have issued a warning about a sophisticated ‘virtual kidnapping’ extortion racket targeting Chinese international students.

Four cases were reported in April, where scammers forced victims to take pictures of themselves pretending to be ‘kidnapped, bound and gagged’ before sending them to their families for ransom.

Victims aged 17-23 are contacted by scammers posing as Chinese authorities, police or Chinese embassy or consulate staff before being told to pay large sums of between $175,000 and $200,000 to avoid that they be deported or placed under arrest.

“When they have extorted all the money they can from these victims, it then escalates until they deceive and force the victim to fake their own kidnapping and take pictures of themselves in vulnerable positions,” said Detective Joe Doueihi.

“Unfortunately, in all the cases we’ve seen, the victims rightly believe that they’re talking to Chinese officials and that the threats will happen if they don’t comply.”

Initial contact can be made through calls or through encrypted messaging apps such as Telegraph, WhatsApp and WeChat. Police believe the perpetrators are ‘predominantly offshore’.

In one case, police say, a 17-year-old boy was told by someone posing as a postal worker that he had contraband under his name in a package that had been sent to the Chinese police for investigation.

The teen was told to pay $20,000 to prove his innocence and was ordered to stage a kidnapping to extort money from his family to pay a false debt.

Police became involved after his family in China reported receiving photos of the teen who appeared to be injured and abducted and were able to locate him safely before any money was transferred.

Superintendent Doueihi said the emotional toll on the victims was heavy, with some “psychologically traumatized” victims requiring hospitalization.

“It’s such an elaborate scam that they can talk to these victims for hours and hours and sometimes days at a time,” he said.

“They absolutely convince them and psychologically make them believe that they will be arrested and their families will be harmed if they do not comply with their requests.

“They are psychologically traumatized.”

Police said the emotional toll on targeted Chinese students was heavy, with some “psychologically traumatized” victims requiring hospitalization

Chinese international students as young as 17 have been forced by scammers to fake their own kidnapping

Chief Inspector Doueihi said police are now working with Australian universities to raise awareness of the sophisticated scam.

The number of ‘virtual kidnappings’ is believed to have increased after Chinese international students returned to campuses after travel restrictions were lifted in January.

Superintendent Doueihi said there were about six cases in 2020 before crimes stopped until April this year.

“We attribute that to the fact that Covid is over. International students are now traveling and entering the country again,” he said.

While authorities believe the communications are taking place offshore, investigating the scam has been difficult as the criminal groups and perpetrators mask their identities and locations using encryption software.

“If you are a Chinese student in Australia and you receive one of these calls, and you have any doubts about its legitimacy, I strongly recommend that you contact the Chinese Consulate or Chinese Embassy and the NSW Police and us to advice,” he said. .

Tony Zhang, the Third Secretary of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, thanked the NSW police for their “tireless work”.

“The Chinese Embassy recognizes that the NSW Police have done a great job to protect Chinese citizens, especially Chinese students studying here,” he said.

Victims were ordered to pay large sums of money between $175,000 and $200,000 to avoid being deported or arrested before being forced to fake their kidnappings