Cyber 'Kidnapping' Scams Target Chinese Students
2024-01-16
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1Late last month, 17-year-old Chinese student Kai Zhuang was reported missing near Salt Lake City in the American state of Utah.
2He was found days later, alone and cold in a tent in the mountains north of the city.
3Officials say the case was part of a cyber, or online, plan by criminals.
4The criminals tried to get $80,000 in ransom money by making Zhuang's family believe he had been kidnapped.
5Ransom is money that is paid to release a kidnapped person.
6Zhuang's case is one of many in which unknown criminals target Chinese students around the world and pretend to kidnap them.
7The criminals often pretend to be Chinese police or government officials.
8They convince the students to leave the places where they live and go stay at a hotel.
9Then they threaten the students' families and ask for tens of thousands of dollars for the release of their children.
10On January 3, just days after Kai Zhuang was found, the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a warning about the fake kidnappings of Chinese people in the United States.
11Criminals have also attempted fake kidnappings of Chinese students in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan, VOA News found.
12It is not clear whether the criminals are working together or separately across these countries.
13Theresa Payton is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the cybersecurity company Fortalice Solutions.
14She told VOA News that the complex relationship between the Chinese government and its citizens may move worldwide criminal groups to target Chinese students more than students from other countries.
15Other security experts say that the criminals pretend to be Chinese police or government officials for a reason; they are using the strong Chinese security system to their advantage.
16"Chinese people are naturally afraid of the police," said Han Jiang Du Diao Seng, a pharmacist based in the United States.
17He runs accounts on YouTube and Weibo that are popular among Chinese exchange students.
18Seng has helped four Chinese students caught up in cyber kidnapping, he said. He explained to VOA News how the scam, or illegal trick, works.
19The criminals, pretending to be Chinese officials, first ask students if they have recently received money from their families.
20If they say yes, the criminals lie to the students.
21They may tell them that the money was sent illegally or they may tell them their families are targets of criminals.
22Then they tell the students to stop communicating with their family while officials look into the problem.
23Soon, this makes the family believe their son or daughter has been kidnapped.
24In the cases Seng worked on, he said, the criminals forced all the students to leave where they lived and go stay at a hotel.
25This made their families believe the students were actually kidnapped.
26Seng said Chinese parents may be less likely to report their cases to American police.
27He noted that there is distrust among Chinese people of American police.
28Chinese state media often show American police as violent and irresponsible, Seng said.
29There is no clear information on the number of cyber kidnapping cases in the U.S. or around the world, cybersecurity experts told VOA.
30However, the number of cases appears to be growing.
31Improved technology, especially with artificial intelligence (AI), might make the cyber kidnappings easier for criminals, experts say.
32AI can create deepfakes.
33Deepfake audio and pictures can make it seem like victims have actually been kidnapped, said Payton, the Fortalice Solutions CEO.
34Joseph Steinberg is a cybersecurity expert based in New York City.
35He said improvements in AI mean that criminals do not even have to speak the same language as their victims.
36"AI is only going to get better, and that means that the attacks will only be more and more realistic," he told VOA.
37Last February in Canada, police said Chinese students had been tricked out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by scammers claiming to be Chinese government officials.
38In Japan last summer, at least six Chinese students were targeted in cyber kidnapping plans, local police said.
39The Chinese Embassy in Tokyo issued a warning about the scams in August.
40Police in Britain issued a warning about cyber scams targeting Chinese students in September.
41And in October, the Australian government issued a similar warning.
42Cybersecurity experts recommend families set up a password to check one another's identity over the phone during these kinds of situations.
43"The cyber kidnapping scam very much can happen to anybody, Steinberg said, "and that's what people need to be aware of."
44I'm Faith Pirlo. And I'm Andrew Smith.
1Late last month, 17-year-old Chinese student Kai Zhuang was reported missing near Salt Lake City in the American state of Utah. He was found days later, alone and cold in a tent in the mountains north of the city. 2Officials say the case was part of a cyber, or online, plan by criminals. The criminals tried to get $80,000 in ransom money by making Zhuang's family believe he had been kidnapped. Ransom is money that is paid to release a kidnapped person. 3Zhuang's case is one of many in which unknown criminals target Chinese students around the world and pretend to kidnap them. The criminals often pretend to be Chinese police or government officials. They convince the students to leave the places where they live and go stay at a hotel. Then they threaten the students' families and ask for tens of thousands of dollars for the release of their children. 4On January 3, just days after Kai Zhuang was found, the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a warning about the fake kidnappings of Chinese people in the United States. 5Fake kidnappings around the world 6Criminals have also attempted fake kidnappings of Chinese students in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan, VOA News found. It is not clear whether the criminals are working together or separately across these countries. 7Theresa Payton is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the cybersecurity company Fortalice Solutions. She told VOA News that the complex relationship between the Chinese government and its citizens may move worldwide criminal groups to target Chinese students more than students from other countries. 8Other security experts say that the criminals pretend to be Chinese police or government officials for a reason; they are using the strong Chinese security system to their advantage. 9"Chinese people are naturally afraid of the police," said Han Jiang Du Diao Seng, a pharmacist based in the United States. He runs accounts on YouTube and Weibo that are popular among Chinese exchange students. 10Seng has helped four Chinese students caught up in cyber kidnapping, he said. He explained to VOA News how the scam, or illegal trick, works. 11The criminals, pretending to be Chinese officials, first ask students if they have recently received money from their families. If they say yes, the criminals lie to the students. They may tell them that the money was sent illegally or they may tell them their families are targets of criminals. Then they tell the students to stop communicating with their family while officials look into the problem. 12Soon, this makes the family believe their son or daughter has been kidnapped. 13In the cases Seng worked on, he said, the criminals forced all the students to leave where they lived and go stay at a hotel. This made their families believe the students were actually kidnapped. 14Seng said Chinese parents may be less likely to report their cases to American police. He noted that there is distrust among Chinese people of American police. Chinese state media often show American police as violent and irresponsible, Seng said. 15Use of technology 16There is no clear information on the number of cyber kidnapping cases in the U.S. or around the world, cybersecurity experts told VOA. However, the number of cases appears to be growing. 17Improved technology, especially with artificial intelligence (AI), might make the cyber kidnappings easier for criminals, experts say. 18AI can create deepfakes. Deepfake audio and pictures can make it seem like victims have actually been kidnapped, said Payton, the Fortalice Solutions CEO. 19Joseph Steinberg is a cybersecurity expert based in New York City. He said improvements in AI mean that criminals do not even have to speak the same language as their victims. 20"AI is only going to get better, and that means that the attacks will only be more and more realistic," he told VOA. 21Last February in Canada, police said Chinese students had been tricked out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by scammers claiming to be Chinese government officials. 22In Japan last summer, at least six Chinese students were targeted in cyber kidnapping plans, local police said. The Chinese Embassy in Tokyo issued a warning about the scams in August. 23Police in Britain issued a warning about cyber scams targeting Chinese students in September. And in October, the Australian government issued a similar warning. 24Cybersecurity experts recommend families set up a password to check one another's identity over the phone during these kinds of situations. 25"The cyber kidnapping scam very much can happen to anybody, Steinberg said, "and that's what people need to be aware of." 26I'm Faith Pirlo. And I'm Andrew Smith. 27Liam Scott and Tracy Liu wrote this story for VOA News. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English. 28_______________________________________________ 29Words in This Story 30tent -n. a shelter made of nylon or canvas and held up by poles or ropes, usually used for camping 31ransom -n. the money that has to be paid to free someone who has been kidnapped 32fake -adj. not real or genuine 33pharmacist -n. a person who has legal permission to sell and administer medicine 34deepfake -n. an image, audio recording, or video that seems like a real recording of a person in a particular situation but instead is fake and generated by digital technology