In recent days, the FBI has issued a new and rather bizarre warning about a new and disturbing type of online extortion scheme, known as "cyber hijacking." Such "kidnapping" is increasingly directed against students studying abroad, especially Chinese studying in the United States, taking advantage of the distance between them and their families. We used Claude to explain the cruel scam.
According to the FBI, "cyberhijacking" occurs when fraudsters anonymously contact students online, threatening to harm their families if they don't isolate themselves and send photos that appear to show them in captivity — all without anyone around them forcibly holding them. After the students provide the photos, they are sent to their families, threatening to harm their children if they do not pay a ransom. After payment, the "kidnappers" instruct the young people to simply return to their homes and schools.
The case that led to the severe warning was that of 17-year-old Kai Zhuang, an exchange student who disappeared in Utah and whose family was ordered to pay an $80,000 ransom for his return. Zhuang's family reported him missing on December 28 after receiving a demand for an $80,000 ransom for his return from captivity. His adoptive family in the United States had no idea anything unusual was happening because, they said, this was the second time he had left the house with camping gear – on December 20 he had already been instructed by the kidnappers to do so, but police officers who spotted him ordered him to return home due to the bitter cold, which is unsuitable for camping.
After the threats continued, he made a second attempt, this time successful, to comply with the demands of the "kidnappers." He settled in the mountains of Utah, in a simple tent, with little food and insufficient heating.
According to the FBI, Chinese students are targeted for these scams through phishing tactics and compromised personal accounts. Zhuang's case is not the first of this kind – back in 2021, a 20-year-old Chinese student was reported to have disappeared in the state of Michigan and his parents were instructed to pay his "kidnappers" $6,000. Recently, something similar happened to a Chinese student studying in San Diego, California, until the FBI intervened and stopped the extortion.
Experts say the constant and intrusive surveillance of Chinese citizens has made it easier for fraudsters to collect personal information and focus extortion efforts against wealthy families whose children study abroad.
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