Virtual fraud is still one of the main fraud methods, as technology continues to make virtual fraud more common, with little to no cost and huge benefits. It is mainly aimed at telecom fraud for citizens who are doing business or studying abroad.
Recently, Zhuang Kai, a Chinese student in the United States, has been found safely, and his family has paid a ransom of $80,000. A 17-year-old student from China is believed to have been kidnapped in the area and is looking for his whereabouts, according to Huanqiu.com. The 17-year-old lives in Riverdale, Utah, 34 miles north of Salt Lake City. He was last seen at around 3:30 a.m. local time on December 28, 2023. ** received a message from the school about his disappearance on the evening of the 28th. Riverdale Police Commissioner Kathy Warren revealed at a Dec. 29 press conference that he believed he had been "forcibly abducted" from his host family and "detained against his will." Zhuang Kai's parents live in China. The parents previously called Zhuang Kai's high school in the United States, claiming that they had received a ransom note with Zhuang Kai**. According to local **, Zhuang Kai was found in the canyon area of Brigham City, Utah, on the night of December 31, ** climbed the hillside to search, and found him in a tent on the mountainside of Utah. Zhuang Kai was then taken to the Riverdale Police Department and has been contacted by his family. Riverdale Police Chief Casey Warren said Mr. Zhuang was "manipulated" by online ransomers who misled him into believing that his family in China was being threatened. At the same time, the family has paid a ransom of $80,000 for his disappearance. According to the United States**, criminals often threaten young foreign exchange students and their families, respectively, and demand ransom payments. Students are also asked to hide themselves and take pictures of themselves in captivity under duress and send them to their families. On January 2, the Chinese Embassy in the United States announced that with the efforts of the local ** in the United States, the Chinese Embassy in the United States and the public security organs in China, the international student had been safely found on the evening of December 31 local time, and he is currently in good health. According to the local **, the international student suffered a "virtual kidnapping" telecom fraud, and the case is still under further investigation. The Chinese Embassy in the United States once again reminds Chinese citizens in the United States, especially those studying in the United States, to raise their security awareness, strengthen security precautions, and be highly vigilant against telecommunication network fraud such as "virtual kidnapping" to avoid damage to personal and property safety.
But this "kidnapping" is not the first case, as early as November 2023, a student in Xining City, who studied in a European country, was coerced and coerced to go to a certain country in Southeast Asia after being deeply "**** and mind controlled" by the suspect. The suspect cut off the victim's contact with the outside world, contacted the victim's parents during the period when the victim lost contact with the outside world, said that the victim was kidnapped, and sent the victim's abduction** and crying audio, threatening his parents to pay the ransom at the specified time, otherwise the ticket will be torn. The criminal investigation and anti-fraud departments of Qinghai Province, city and district have worked together urgently, and with the assistance of multiple departments, they have successfully rescued international students in a country in Southeast Asia and recovered a loss of 2 million yuan. In April 23, Mr. and Mrs. Jia's daughter, who was studying in a country in Southeast Asia, called a voice chat**. The other party said that his daughter was kidnapped and paid a ransom of 5 million if he wanted to be safe. Later, Mr. Jia called the police, and after analysis, he believed that this should be a fake kidnapping and a real fraud. **Through investigation, it was found that Mr. Jia's daughter was deeply threatened and intimidated by the other party**, and filmed "A Call for Help after Being Kidnapped**" by herself, and then handed over her WeChat account and password as required, and took refuge abroad. Without visas from neighboring countries, I had to sit at the border between the two countries for six or seven hours. The Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security has specifically warned against "virtual kidnapping" scams targeting international students. "Virtual kidnapping" fraud is a kind of telecommunication network fraud that specifically targets international students, and it is also an upgraded version of the traditional "impersonation of public prosecutors". This type of scam takes advantage of the fact that international students and parents are thousands of miles away and miscommunicated, and carefully designed a two-way chain**.
But this type of scam often has a whole set of routines and processes. Fraudsters will take advantage of factors such as international students who are often not deeply involved in the world, far away from their parents, and poor communication, to impersonate domestic public security and law enforcement personnel, or impersonate foreign local police, immigration, customs and other law enforcement agencies, claiming that international students are suspected of money laundering, smuggling, smuggling and other crimes, and send false "arrest warrants" and "wanted warrants" to international students, so that international students fall into panic and then follow their instructions. In a case announced by Shanghai **, Xiaoyu, an international student, received a **, and the other party said that it was a staff member of the immigration bureau of a certain country, saying that Xiaoyu was suspected of committing a crime and needed to cooperate with the investigation. The other party also knows Xiaoyu's ID number and place of birth. In a panic, Xiaoyu has been talking to the other party from April 9 to 16 so that the other party can monitor her every move. Afterwards. Early in the morning of April 17, the other party sent another order, asking Xiaoyu to leave quickly and leave the country for investigation in neighboring countries.
When international students fall into the lies created by fraudsters and panic, fraudsters will make up a "script" for international students to cooperate. After gaining Xiaoyu's trust, the fraudster asked Xiaoyu to record a paragraph of his kidnapping ** as required to prove that he was really the victim of the kidnapping case, and then he could clear the suspicion. Xiaoyu, who has not been deeply involved in the world, agreed without thinking about it. Xiaoyu said that after ** was issued, the other party also asked her to provide her WeChat account and password for the so-called forensics. During this process, the other party also talked to her on the phone, convinced Xiaoyu's parents that she had been kidnapped, and threatened her that she must do what she was asked to do.
When the fraudsters gain the trust of international students, the fraudsters often let the deceived students get up and go to other countries, under the coercion and lure of the fraudsters, the international students leave the residence in a state of disconnection, and then fake the kidnapping scene, and then they or the international students will send the scene of the video, ** to the parents, using the anxiety and panic of the parents to defraud money.
Virtual fraud is mainly to take advantage of the fact that international students and parents are thousands of miles away and the contact is not so timely, and then through well-designed ** fraud. This kind of fraud seriously infringes on the rights and interests of international students and their families, and brings huge psychological pressure and economic losses to international students and their families. In order to prevent this kind of fraud, international students should be vigilant, enhance their legal awareness, understand relevant laws and regulations, and not trust the words of others. Maintain good communication with your family, and communicate with your family, school or local ** in a timely manner when you encounter problems. Finally, if you encounter a similar situation, stay calm, don't pay easily, and call the police in time. Parents should also be vigilant. It is necessary to understand the basic situation of the child abroad, including study, life, etc., so as to provide help at critical moments. Maintain good communication with your child, understand their situation, and identify problems in time. If you encounter a similar situation, you should also call the police in time and do not pay easily.
*: Zibo Internet Police.
Editor-in-charge: Ke Xuezi.
Capital Cyber Police.