RIVERDALE, Utah — Authorities found a missing foreign exchange student alone in a tent surrounded by snow last week after he and his family fell victim to a “cyber kidnapping” scam, according to police.
The Riverdale Police Department in Utah described cyber kidnapping as “a disturbing criminal trend” targeting foreign exchange students, who are threatened into making it appear as though they were kidnapped, and their families, who are ordered to pay a ransom.
“(The kidnappers) tell the victims to isolate themselves and they monitor them through Facetime calls and or Skype,” according to police. “The victims comply out of fear that their families will be harmed if they don’t comply with the cyber kidnappers. The cyber kidnappers continue to extort the family by using fear tactics, photos, and voice recordings of the victim leading the family to believe the kidnappers are with the victim causing them harm.”
Such a scam ensnared Kai Zhuang, an exchange student from China, and his family, according to police.
“The parents reported to school officials that they received a photograph of their child that would indicate he was abducted, and they requested a ransom,” Police Chief Casey Warren said in a news release.
Officials learned that Kai’s family had transferred about $80,000 to bank accounts in China “due to continuous threats from the kidnappers,” Warren said. Family members also shared a photograph of Kai where “it appeared he was being held captive and was in danger.”
Kai had been staying with a host family in Riverdale, and the family had not realized he was missing. They told police that they last saw him the night before, and authorities found no evidence to suggest that he was taken from the home by force.
Investigators learned that days before Kai disappeared, he’d been contacted by police in Provo, Utah, while carrying camping gear. Authorities said they were concerned for his safety and arranged for him to go back to Riverdale.
At the time, police said, Kai “was already being manipulated and controlled by the cyber kidnappers, but he did not disclose this to Provo Police, Riverdale Police, or his host parents.”
After realizing last week that his recently bought camping gear was also missing, authorities analyzed bank and other records and determined that he had visited the Brigham City canyon area.
“Due to the cold weather in Utah at this time of year, we became additionally concerned for the victim’s safety in that he may freeze to death overnight,” Warren said.
After an hourslong search, crews combing the area found Kai with his tent pitched in the woods. Warren said he was “alive but very cold and scared.”
“The victim was relieved to see the police,” he added, saying Kai “had no heat source inside the tent, only a heat blanket, a sleeping bag, limited food and water and several phones that were presumed to be used to carry out the cyber kidnapping.”
Kai asked for the chance to talk to his family and ensure that they were safe and for a warm cheeseburger, both of which he got, Warren said.
In a statement obtained by The Washington Post, the Chinese Embassy in Washington said Kai was “in good condition” after the ordeal and warned Chinese citizens in the U.S. — especially students — “to boost safety awareness, take necessary precautions, and stay vigilant against ‘virtual kidnapping’ and other forms of telecom and online fraud.”
It was not immediately clear how Kai became a target for the cyber kidnappers. Authorities continue to investigate.
Police urged people to immediately contact local law enforcement authorities if they fall prey to a cyber kidnapping scam.
“Do not send money, discontinue contact with the suspects, and contact police immediately,” Warren said.
Cyber or virtual kidnappings have been a known tactic used by extortionists for at least the last two and a half decades, according to the FBI.
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