New South Wales Police have reported numerous incidents of a new
scam targeting young Chinese international students, known as
'virtual kidnapping', with scammers requesting more than
$750,000.
'Virtual kidnapping' is an extortion scam which involves
young people (typically international students) being told they
have been implicated in a crime and are required to pay money to
avoid deportation or being arrested.
In the reported incidents, investigators have been advised that
the initial contact is made via a phone call from a person speaking
in Mandarin.
The scammer claims to be a representative from a Chinese
authority, such as the Chinese Embassy, Consulate or Police.
After the phone call, the scammer then encourages the student to
continue communications through encrypted applications such as
WeChat, WhatsApp, or Telegram.
