A foreign student who went missing in a “cyber kidnapping” incident last Thursday was found safely in a tent on a mountainside in Utah and returned to his family.
According to reports BBCStudent Kai Chuan, 17, was first reported missing from her high school last week and was later found “cold and scared” in a tent in Utah's Brigham City Valley.
According to local police, Zhuang went missing after anonymous scammers told her to isolate herself. Zhuang's family in China paid the perpetrators 80,000 (£62,600) after they demanded a ransom and sent photos that Zhuang had taken herself and sent to her parents in China. paid.
Experts told the BBC that advances in technology are giving criminals more opportunities to carry out cyber-kidnapping schemes.
“In most cases, crimes like this are committed. [it] “Crime has become more targeted and more expensive,” said Joseph Steinberg, a cybersecurity expert who advises businesses and governments.
Police say the kidnappers began manipulating Zhuan t on Dec. 20, when he was seen with camping equipment in Utah.
Steinberg explained that cyber kidnapping occurs when a criminal calls or texts a victim and tricks them into thinking their loved one has been kidnapped, when in fact their loved one is safe.
The victims claim they heard screaming while talking to their attacker on the phone and thought their loved ones were in danger.
“They'll do anything to keep the calls going,” said Marie-Helen Maras, director of the Center for Cybercrime Research at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She said: “If they hang up or contact someone, they threaten to harm the target to scare them into making a hasty decision.”
Dr. Maras, who studies cyber kidnappings, said there have been several cyber kidnappings involving Chinese students in other countries, including Canada and Australia.
Steinberg expressed concern about the use of artificial intelligence to disguise the voices of loved ones and force them to pay ransoms.
“This technology has reached a stage where even loving parents who know their children well can be fooled,” he says.
Video courtesy of ABC News via YouTube
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributor to Christian Headlines and host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast dedicated to sound doctrine and Biblical truth. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Alliance Theological Seminary.
Related podcasts:
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views and positions of Salem Web Network and Salem Media Group.
Related videos:
It might be helpful to consider how Biblical patterns influence our behavior today.read a book by james spencer Click here for the full article.
Audio and photo credit: ©/iStock/Getty Images Plus/skynesher
