Young international students are being targeted by scammers who take advantage of their poor knowledge of Australian law.
WA Police said there have been four cases since August last year where the targets – ranging in age from 18 to 22 – have been ordered to pay sums of up to $215,000 or extradited to their country of origin for prosecution.
Scammers typically tell the victim that they are connected to a crime and use information about the victim from social media or other sources and forged documents to legitimize the scam.
To protect themselves from imprisonment and to expedite the process, they are offered the opportunity to pay compensation.
During negotiations, scammers will advise the victim to make an extortion attempt targeting his parents.
As the situation escalates, they are forced to stage their own kidnappings. The photos are then sent to their families and used to demand ransoms for their safe release.
The scammers will target international students to the extent of faking their own kidnappings (pictured) to extort money from their families back home
Chief Inspector Peter Foley said the victims are suffering serious financial and psychological consequences from their ordeal.
“The vulnerable victims of crime are young international students who have likely left their families for the first time and are alone abroad,” Detective Inspector Foley said.
‘The scammers are taking advantage of their vulnerabilities and taking advantage of the distance between the victim and their families.
“It is virtually impossible for the families to confirm that the victim is actually safe and that no charges have been brought against them by foreign authorities.”
The scammers take advantage of people’s trust in authority and their fear of getting into trouble.
“Feelings of helplessness and shame keep victims from contacting police after being scammed,” Detective Foley said.