Virtual kidnappings in Sydney sees families scammed out of $750k

Police are warning of a rise in “virtual extortions” involving international exchange students, as they fake their own kidnaps to con their parents into coughing up the “ransom”.

Police are dealing with a wave of foreign students being “virtually kidnapped”, with several cases of victims scammed into faking it themselves in a bid to extort thousands from their parents back home.

It comes as more and more exchange students have returned to Australia after being locked out for two years due to the pandemic, leading to more cases around Sydney.

The worrying trend has seen families – predominantly from Asian countries – receiving disturbing threats that their children would be assaulted or killed.

Detectives investigating a spate of the incidents have found in some of the cases the “kidnapper” is a desperate university student looking to con their wealthy families out of thousands.

Police sources said in many of the fake cases the students book a hotel in the CBD under their own names before staging pictures of themselves bound, gagged or injured.

An image from a police appeal in 2020, the last time reports increased. Picture NSW Police

It is understood officers have been able to establish those kidnappings were a scam by forensically examining the photos and obtaining CCTV of the “victim” entering where they were reportedly being held against their will on their own.

In one case the fake ransom was in the “tens of thousands” another was “hundreds of thousands” of dollars.

Robbery and Serious Crime Squad Commander Joe Doueihi, who is heading a public appeal this morning. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

Detectives have charged several people over the ploy in recent weeks, one as recently as two weeks ago, with public nuisance offences.

“We’re getting them all the time,” one police source said.

Officers are also dealing with legitimate “virtual extortions” in Sydney they say are targeting vulnerable university students and their families overseas.

“In the past month alone, four known incidents of ‘virtual kidnappings’ have been reported to the NSW Police Force, with scammers targeting Chinese international students,” police said in a statement on Friday.

Another confronting image from previous cases. Picture NSW Police

The cases have lulled during the pandemic but are increasing with the number of exchange students returning to Sydney.

“The scammers have requested more than $750,000 in total, with victims receiving threats unless they pay between $175,000 and $250,000.”

“Incidents of a similar nature have been reported to interstate and international law-enforcement agencies, netting millions of dollars from victims around the world.”

Senior police say the reports they are receiving are only a fraction of the cases out there due a perceived cultural distrust of Australian authorities by the families overseas.

One said many of the families just pay the ransom and never contact the police.

It is now a major focus for the force as Commissioner Karen Webb vowed to crack down on “silent crimes”, ones that aren’t reported due to cultural differences, as a top priority when she walked into the role.

Police have been working with Chinese consulate officials to get the warning out. Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

Police said a 22-year-old woman was last month coerced into kidnapping herself and ransoming money from her parents after being contacted by someone purporting to be Chinese police claiming she needed money to

Her family fell for the ruse and paid $194,000.

Another case in the inner west saw an 18-year-old victimfake her kidnapping after being told she needed $280,000 or she would be deported.

A CBD victim’s family, whose daughter who was told her package was seized by Chinese police, paid $270,000 after being convinced their daughter was kidnapped.

The NSW Police Force was contacted for comment last week but declined.

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