Sydney, July 28: A "virtual kidnapping" scam has been unearthed in Australia where Chinese students and officials are said to be potential targets. Amid rising tension between Australia and China, Australian Police have so far recorded eight incidents of "virtual kidnapping" this year. Australian Police have especially warned students and officials from China against such scam perpetrators, news agency Reuters reported. China's Activities in South China Sea Likely to Dominate Australia-US Talks.

"We have had a spate in the last few months where pretty much every weekend we have had a victim fall for one of these scams. If you get one of these phone calls, hang up, ring the police, ring your university, but just don’t pay any money," Darren Benett, director of the crime command in the state of New South Wales, whose capital is Sydney, said in a televised news conference. China Warns Students to Be ‘Cautious’ in Australia Amid Racist Incidents Since Coronavirus Outbreak.

What is Virtual Kidnapping Scam?

Virtual kidnapping is a form of cybercrime used to dupe people. Perpetrators coerce foreign students to fake their own abductions and make families overseas into paying hefty ransoms. They tell victims to snap contacts with their families, rent a hotel room and take pictures and video recordings of themselves bound and blindfolded. Those pictures and videos would then be used to build pressure on parents and family members to pay the ransom.

In some cases, scam perpetrators called Chinese students in the guise of a local Chinese official and warned that they had been implicated in a crime in China and must pay a fee to avoid legal action, arrest or deportation. This comes at a time when tension between China and Australia is at its peak over trade, human rights and accusations of state-linked hacking.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 28, 2020 11:23 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).