An exchange student, Kai Zhuang, in Riverdale, Utah, was kidnapped recently, and his parents overseas paid the ransom before police found the boy and returned him to his U.S. guardians.
The kicker is that the kidnappers were never physically near the kid. They may not even have been in the U.S. at all.
He was cyber-kidnapped.
The FBI says that cyber-kidnapping is a trending scam, particularly targeting exchange students.
"(The kidnappers) tell the victims to isolate themselves and they monitor them through Facetime calls and or Skype," according to police. "The victims comply out of fear that their families will be harmed if they don't comply with the cyber kidnappers. The cyber kidnappers continue to extort the family by using fear tactics, photos, and voice recordings of the victim leading the family to believe the kidnappers are with the victim causing them harm."
Here's how it worked, at least in the case of this Utah boy.
At some point, the kidnappers contacted Kai and told him that if he did not go camping in the woods and take pictures of himself alone in the tent, his parents would be harmed. The boy picked up some camping equipment and disappeared into the woods.
Meanwhile, his parents were told that Kai had been abducted and sent pictures and videos that seemed to indicate he was being held by captors.
You know, it seems like one phone call could have cleared this whole thing up.
Police Chief Casey Warren said,
The parents reported to school officials that they received a photograph of their child that would indicate he was abducted, and they requested a ransom.
The family reported they had transferred approximately $80,000 US dollars to bank accounts in China due to continuous threats from the kidnappers. The family also provided the photograph of the victim and it appeared he was being held captive and was in danger.
After investigating and discovering that Kai had purchased camping equipment, they were worried he might be out in the elements during the winter. And when they miraculously found him alone in his tent, their suspicions were confirmed.
"The victim was relieved to see the police," he added, saying Kai "had no heat source inside the tent, only a heat blanket, a sleeping bag, limited food and water and several phones that were presumed to be used to carry out the cyber kidnapping."
The police, the FBI, and the Chinese authorities are all still investigating the crime, but Kai at least is safe and alive.
The victim only wanted to speak to his family to ensure they were safe and requested a warm cheeseburger, both of which were accomplished on the way back to Riverdale PD.
I'm glad it all worked out, but this new world we're living in is ridiculous.
You know things have gotten bad when even kidnappers are refusing to show up for in-person work.
The pandemic broke us.
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