A Chinese exchange student in the United States who was the victim of a “cyberkidnapping” scam that extorted $80,000 (R$387,000, at current exchange rates) from his parents has been found alive, “cold and scared” in a forest in western Utah, police said.
17yearold Kai Zhuang was reported missing Thursday after his family in China informed officials at the high school he attended in Riverdale, Utah, that he had apparently been kidnapped and a ransom was being demanded.
The case followed the typical pattern of cyber kidnappings, in which the alleged “hijackers” fraudulently ask the victim to isolate themselves and provide photos of themselves as if they were in captivity. The images are then sent to family members to blackmail them into receiving payment.
In the end, the victims agree, believing that their family will be harmed if they refuse to follow the criminals' orders.
Kai's family members had already deposited 80,000 euros into Chinese bank accounts during the fraud, police said. After analyzing bank records, purchase and telephone histories over several days, police concluded that Kai was isolated in a camping tent about 25 miles north of a sprawling area near Brigham City.
“Because it is so cold in Utah this time of year, we were even more concerned for the victim's safety as he could freeze to death at night,” Riverdale police said in a statement after the teen was found Sunday.
A sergeant climbing a hill on foot found Kai's tent, which had no source of heat other than “a thermal blanket, a sleeping bag, little food and water, and several phones that were allegedly used in the cyberhijacking,” he added.
According to Riverdale police, cyber hijackers have recently focused on foreign exchange students, particularly Chinese students.