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.

    • weiln12@lemmy.worldEnglish
      23·
      10 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.

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
      171·
      10 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·
      10 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