Chinese international student found safe days after ‘virtual’ kidnapping scam

A Chinese student was tricked into being held at ransom for days in an elaborate $200,000 “virtual kidnapping” scam, police have revealed.

A Chinese international student, deemed a “high risk” missing person, has been found safe and well after days of being held at ransom in a Sydney apartment following a terrifying and elaborate $200,000 virtual kidnapping scam.

The 18-year-old woman was reported missing by concerned friends in the early hours of September 8, with officers told the high school student was being held at a mystery location.

Videos and images of her were sent to her family overseas via Chinese social media app WeChat and were followed by demands for a large sum of money by a person pretending to be Chinese police.

The perpetrator demanded cash for the teenager’s safe release. Her family was then blackmailed into transferring $213,000 into an offshore bank account in the Bahamas via a “string of payments”, police said.

The scam kicked off in July when the woman received an email from a person pretending to be Chinese police and claiming her personal details had been illegally used on a package intercepted overseas.

A Chinese international student has been located safe and well by police following a ‘virtual kidnapping’ incident in Sydney earlier this month. Picture: NSW Police

Authorities in NSW enlisted the help of the Australian Federal Police and Chinese authorities to launch an investigation.

Detectives found the woman safe and well a week later in Pyrmont, in central Sydney. She had no idea she was the victim of an elaborate scam.

A 22-year-old man was questioned by officers who determined that he was the victim of a scam himself.

NSW Police Force State Crime Command director, detective Chief Superintendent Darren Bennett said the man was also contacted by people pretending to be Chinese authorities.

The man, who is a law student in Sydney, was urged to meet the girl and take her to his home address in Chatswood and keep her there because she was a “protected witness” for Chinese police.

They met at the Sydney Fish Markets and he took her back to his place before she sent her family a series of videos where she said she was being held at ransom and her family needed to send money for her release, Supt Bennett said on Monday.

Supt Bennett said police still didn’t know where the scammers were located, and it was “impossible to tell”.

“These people could be anywhere. The only way for us to deal with these crimes is to avoid them altogether,” he said.

He also reissued a warning to students and NSW residents to be aware of these elaborate schemes.

Police are now questioning a 22-year-old man. Picture: NSW Police

“Less than two months ago, the NSW Police Force issued a warning to the community about ‘virtual kidnapping’ scams targeting Chinese students studying in Australia,” Supt Bennett said.

“It appears these scammers are continuing to operate and are once again preying on the vulnerabilities of individuals in the community who are not in direct physical contact with their families.”

The 22-year-old man is not facing any charges.

Police said perpetrators sent the man documents that convinced him into believing they were Chinese authorities.

“At no stage were these people under any risk, they were simply the victim of a scam,” he said.

“It is unbelievable what took place. The scammers have a skill base and cultural triggers to make these people feel like they’re under threat.

“But the believability factor (for victims) is a significant one.”

Supt Bennett said the 18-year-old girl was a student at a Sydney high school completing her HSC, and police were looking into the reason why she may have been targeted.

“These people (perpetrators) do clearly target people whose Chinese relatives and family have some means,” he said.

In July NSW Police said several Chinese international students living in Sydney had become victims of a virtual kidnapping scheme that had generated more than $3 million in ransom payments this year alone.

Virtual kidnapping is a scheme that involves convincing victims to fake their own abductions before demanding ransom payments from relatives for their release.