How cyber-criminals made a man kidnap himself
Gangs use blackmail and manipulated messages to dupe families into giving up ransom money
Kai Zhuang hid in a tent on the orders of cyber-extortionists
RIVERDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Alone, terrified and almost frozen to death, Kai Zhuang emerged shivering from a tent in a snowy canyon in Utah on New Year’s Eve after falling victim to a bizarre extortion plot.
The 17-year-old Chinese exchange student had been tricked into spending several days hidden, convinced that his family on the other side of the world were in imminent danger if he did not do exactly as he was told.
His parents too had been duped and paid an $80,000 ransom — despite the “kidnappers” not having been anywhere near their son at any point during the ordeal. Instead the family was a victim of what the FBI calls “cyber-kidnapping”. It is a threat the bureau believes is increasing.
Police said Zhuang disappeared
