Chinese students in Australia are being targeted in kidnapping scams, police warn
- At least eight fake kidnappings have been reported this year, New South Wales state police say
- The scammers have netted some US$2.27 million in ransoms so far this year, with one family losing US$1.4 million
Families have lost millions of dollars in fake kidnapping scams targeting Chinese students, Australian police have warned, with about A$3.2 million (US$2.27 million) gained by fraudsters this year.
At least eight fake kidnappings in New South Wales had been reported this year in what is part of an elaborate global extortion racket, state police told broadcaster SBS.
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Chinese students in Australia targeted in ‘virtual kidnapping’ scams, police say
In May, the Australian Federal Police said they were investigating at least 25 cases of kidnapping extortion scams targeting Chinese students across Australia.
“The victims are distributed among the major capitals, particularly where we’ve got concentrations of Chinese students,” Commander David McLean from the Cyber Crime Operations told SBS.
The scam typically begins with a fraudster contacting young Chinese students, speaking Mandarin and claiming to be from a Chinese government authority.