The public is being cautioned over an unusual type of telephone scam involving “virtual kidnappings”, after a string of incidents were reported in quick succession over the past few weeks.
New South Wales Police issued a community alert on Wednesday urging residents to be hypervigilant against blackmailers on phone calls, especially international students from China who were the highest at-risk of being targeted by the activity.
Police described the practice as a “sophisticated extortion scam” in which scammers force young people to fake their own kidnappings and demand ransom payments from their relatives in exchange for their safe release.
In October alone, three known cases were referred to the NSW Police Force, along with similar incidents of the nature reported interstate and internationally.
Investigators have been told the people making these phone calls typically speak in Mandarin and claim to be representatives from Chinese government agencies like an embassy or consulate.
They then talk the victims into believing they have prior criminal implications in China or have fallen prey to identity thefts and coerce them into making large money transfers to unknown offshore bank accounts to avoid any legal consequences.
In the instance of a virtual kidnapping, scammers convince these youngsters to fake their own abduction, wherein they are ordered to cease all contact with family and friends, rent hotel accommodation and record pretence imagery of them being tied up and blindfolded.
The files are sent to the victim’s relatives – usually overseas – who then pay the ransom for their purported “release”.
Authorities fear with the increasing incidence of these cases, the modus operandi of these scammers has evolved and is becoming more advanced.
(SKY NEWS)
