2024-02-11 06:01:34
On December 31st last year, Chinese student Zhang Kai (17) was rescued by local police in a mountain in Utah, USA, in -22 degrees Celsius. Police are searching for the culprit, believing he is the victim of a recent ‘cyber kidnapping’ trend targeting Chinese students studying abroad./AFP Yonhap News
On December 31 last year, Zhang Kai (17), a Chinese international student shivering in the cold in a mountain in the western state of Utah, was rescued by local police. In the extreme cold of -22 degrees Celsius, he had no insulation equipment other than a camping tent, sleeping bag, and blanket. He said that regarding a week ago he headed into the mountains without any physical coercion. How did a seventeen-year-old international student voluntarily find himself in an extreme situation?
CNN, NBC, and VOA (Voice of America) recently reported that young Chinese students studying abroad are becoming the main targets of ‘cyber kidnapping’ crimes. The cyber kidnapping method identified by the Utah police and foreign media who rescued Zhang Kai that day was closer to ‘blackmail’ than kidnapping.
The criminals started by calling the victims pretending to be from the Chinese embassy in the U.S. or Chinese officials and threatening them by saying, “Your family (in China) is involved in corruption charges.” If the victim showed signs of embarrassment, he asked, “Has there been any money recently transferred from your family? This might be evidence of a crime.” It is said that occasionally, someone presumed to be a family member might be heard screaming on the phone. Criminals tell victims with impaired judgment that they must cooperate with the investigation to ensure the innocence of themselves and their families. Foreign media outlets explain that international students with little social experience are subject to techniques such as gaslighting and have no choice but to follow even absurd instructions.
In fact, Zhang Kai headed into the mountains on his own following receiving instructions to “cut off contact with people around him, including his family, and move to a place where he can stay alone.” Soon, he followed suit by saying, “Take a photo that looks like you are incarcerated and send it to me.” The criminal sent this photo to his family and demanded ransom. It is said that the police rescued Mr. Jang following $80,000 (approximately 100 million won) had already been transferred to the criminal. Mr. Jang was rescued when his parents, who felt suspicious belatedly, reported this to the school he attended.
On December 31st last year, Chinese student Zhang Kai (17) was rescued by local police in a mountain in Utah, USA, in -22 degrees Celsius. Police are searching for the culprit, believing he is the victim of a recent ‘cyber kidnapping’ trend targeting Chinese students studying abroad./AFP Yonhap News
As a result of the police investigation, the account to which Jang’s family sent the ransom money was a Chinese bank account. Local police are searching for the culprit in cooperation with the Chinese embassy and the Chinese government.
American media reported that this cyber kidnapping method has been popular in North and South America, including Mexico, since regarding 10 years ago. Police and media in each country have been raising awareness by reporting similar cases of crime, but the UK’s Guardian reported that the number of cases in which Chinese students studying abroad have been targeted has been increasing recently.
The BBC reported, “Criminals’ ‘technology’ is improving day by day, including the use of voice manipulation through AI (artificial intelligence),” and “those who disclose personal information such as family relationships on social media such as Facebook are easy to target.” did.
Analysis of the reasons why Chinese international students were targeted varies. First of all, most of the students are young. Those who travel to a foreign country alone at a young age are likely to feel psychological fear when they suddenly receive a phone call claiming to be from the Chinese government. Moreover, the number of Chinese students heading to the United States is increasing. According to 2022 U.S. Immigration Services statistics, the number of Chinese students studying in U.S. high schools increased 98.6 times compared to 2010. As the number of people increases, it is becoming a ‘blue ocean’ for criminals.
Foreign media outlets analyzed that another reason is that students who study abroad in China are usually children of wealthy families. While they recognize that their study abroad was possible thanks to their parents’ financial resources, they do not know much regarding how their parents accumulated their wealth. In China, corruption is a serious crime that can lead to the death penalty, and students cannot help but feel fear amidst this vagueness.
VOA reported that students who have lived under China’s authoritarian system are likely to feel fear rather than be suspicious of fraud methods that would be unbelievable in an ordinary democratic country, such as a family being investigated by authorities screaming over the phone. Chinese state media often portray American police as violent and irresponsible, and it is said that most Chinese people who distrust them are reluctant to report them.
VOA reported that similar frauds have been frequent once morest Chinese students studying abroad in not only the United States but also Australia, the United Kingdom, and Japan over the past year. Last February, a fraudster impersonating a Chinese government official extorted hundreds of thousands of dollars in Canada. Last summer, at least six Chinese students were killed in Japan. Chinese embassies in various countries are issuing warnings once morest these methods.
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