Exchange student Kai Zhuang is discovered freezing in the Utah mountains after parents pay ransom.

A Chinese foreign exchange student has been found freezing but alive in the US after his parents were extorted out of tens of thousands of dollars in a “cyber kidnapping” scam.

Kai Zhuang was discovered “very cold and scared” in a tent in rural Utah, Riverdale Police said in a statement.

The 17-year-old is believed to have isolated himself after being manipulated by the kidnappers.

His parents were then tricked into paying around $80,000 (£62,600).

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According to police, victims of cyber kidnapping convince their victims to isolate themselves, and even take pictures of themselves to make it appear they are being held captive - despite the kidnappers not being present. Instead, the victim is monitored through Facetime or Skype.

Both the victim and their families are then convinced the other will be harmed if they do not comply.

  • AutoTL;DRBEnglish
    6•11 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    A Chinese foreign exchange student has been found freezing but alive in the US after his parents were extorted out of tens of thousands of dollars in a “cyber kidnapping” scam.

    Zhuang is one of a number of foreign students targeted by so-called cyber kidnappers in the US recently, Riverdale Police added in their statement.

    Police believe Kai was being controlled by the kidnappers as early as 20 December, when he was seen by officers in Provo, Utah, carrying camping equipment,

    But despite the kidnappers not being with Kai, police in Utah still feared for his safety, explaining the state’s December temperatures meant there was a risk he could “freeze to death overnight”.

    Kai was eventually found around 25 miles (40km) north of Riverdale, near Brigham City, in a tent with “no heat source” on Sunday.

    He had limited food and water, a heat blanket and a sleeping bag - as well as several phones which police suspect were used to carry out the kidnapping.

    The original article contains 373 words, the summary contains 165 words. Saved 56%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

      • @weiln12@lemmy.worldEnglish
        23•11 months ago

        A heat blanket is NOT a heated blanket. It’s merely a blanket that traps heat so your own body heat is more effective at keeping you warm.

      • FuglyDuckEnglish
        16•11 months ago

        Still a little silly to anyone who grew up around internet culture, but slightly more understandable as something that could take advantage of people not knowing that digital information should always be fundamentally distrusted as potentially faked, with no exceptions.

        they’re talking about those crappy foil blankets that are better than nothing, but not by much. They are not a heat source… they only help reflect body heat from you and keep it from escaping. these things:

      • @ZapBeebz_@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4•11 months ago

        FWIW, I read “heat blanket” as one of those reflective metallic emergency blankets you find in wilderness first aid kits. Better than nothing, but no true heat source, as it isn’t powered, electrically or otherwise