Telephone scam artists forced Chinese students in Australia to organize their own kidnappings to extort millions of their families from their homes, Australian authorities said on Monday.
The New South Wales Police Force, “together with Chinese authorities and universities,” warned community members of an elaborate phone scam targeting Chinese students, known worldwide as a “virtual kidnapping.” In 2020 alone, the agency identified eight incidents in which scammers targeting Chinese international students successfully obtained a total of $ 3.2 million in ransom payments.
In one of those cases, a father in China had paid more than $ 2 million to scammers before they sent him a photo of his daughter gagged and tied up. At the time, he contacted the New South Wales Police, who found the woman an hour later alone and unharmed in a Sydney hotel room, the BBC reported.
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Phone scammers, who generally speak Mandarin, have called Chinese students in Australia, posing as officials from the Chinese embassy, consulate or police, according to investigators. They first convince students that they have been implicated in a crime in China or that their identity has been stolen, and that they must pay a fee to avoid legal action, arrest or deportation.
Chinese students in Australia have been forced to organize their own kidnappings. Scam artists send the images to their families in China, who often pay millions in ransom to secure their “release.” (New South Wales Police)
Using technology to mask their physical locations, scammers encourage students to continue communications through various encrypted apps like WeChat and WhatsApp. The victim is threatened or forced to transfer large amounts of money to unknown offshore bank accounts. In some cases, students have been persuaded to fake their own kidnappings.
Scam artists instruct Chinese students to stop contacting family and friends, rent a hotel room, and take photographs or video recordings of them tied up and blindfolded. These files are then shared with the victim’s relatives abroad.
When the victim’s parents are unable to contact their son in Australia, they send large ransom payments in exchange for his “release,” the New South Wales Police Force said in a statement. The caller will continue to make threats and ransom demands until they are unable to obtain any additional payment, which often causes the victim’s family to contact the police.
The director of the New South Wales State Police State Crime Command, Chief Detective Superintendent, Darren Bennett, said police have contacted the Chinese Embassy and Consulate in Sydney about the scams.
“International students, who have chosen to study abroad in Australia, find themselves in an unfamiliar environment and often live away from family and friends for the first time,” corporate sponsor of the New South Wales Police for the safety and well-being of international students, assistant commissioner Peter Thurtell additional.
Scam artists convince Chinese students to take bound and gagged photos to avoid being deported or arrested. (New South Wales Police)
“The victims of the virtual kidnappings that we have committed are traumatized by what happened, believing that they have put themselves and their loved ones in real danger,” he said.
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He said that students who receive calls from someone who claims to be a Chinese official and want to verify the validity of the caller should contact the Chinese Consulate in Sydney for advice. Students should also seek advice from their university or school and report the matter to the police department.
