An international student is safe after a "virtual kidnapping" in Sydney that scammed her family in China of more than than $200,000 in "ransom" money.
On 8 September an 18-year-old woman was reported missing to police by friends concerned for her welfare.
Police were told videos and images of the woman, who was being held at an unknown location, had been sent to family members overseas via WeChat.
The videos were followed by demands for money by a person purporting to be Chinese police to ensure the woman's safe release.
The State Crime Command's Robbery and Serious Crime Squad, together with local detectives, began investigating along with police negotiators, the AFP and Chinese authorities.
Detectives found the woman safe and well at Pyrmont last Tuesday before raiding a unit at Chatswood on Sydney's North Shore.
Police spoke to a 22-year-old man and inquiries into the incident are continuing.
NSW Police Force State Crime Command director, Detective Chief Superintendent Darren Bennett, renewed recent warnings about elaborate virtual kidnapping scams targeting Chinese students studying in Australia.
Some victims were told to pretend they had been kidnapped. Source: NSW Police
"It appears these scammers are continuing to operate and are once again preying on the vulnerabilities of individuals in the community who are not in direct physical contact with their families," he said.
In the latest incident initial contact was made in July when the woman received an email purporting to be from Chinese police, saying her personal details had been illegally used on a package intercepted overseas.
"Since that time more than $213,000 has been transferred into an offshore account following demands for money, which appears to have evolved into a virtual kidnapping," Det Supt Bennett said.
"The individuals behind these virtual kidnapping scams continually adapt their scripts and methodology, which are designed to take advantage of people's trust in authorities."
Earlier in September, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said 900 people in Australia's Chinese communities have lost more than $1.5 million this year alone.
The organisation said it was particularly worried about a bizarre scam in which students are tricked into posing as kidnapping victims.
The callers tell the students they've engaged in criminal activity and threaten them with criminal sanctions unless they take photos of themselves bound and gagged.
The photos are then used to extort money from the victim's family by claiming the students have been kidnapped.
The other main scam call involves a courier or Chinese authority alleging to have intercepted a parcel addressed to the victim with fraudulent documents such as fake passports.
The caller threatens them with extradition to China to face criminal charges unless money is sent to them to prove their innocence.
David* of the Sydney University Chinese Student Association said scam calls were pervasive among Chinese students on campus.
"To give you a rough estimate, I'd say 80-90 per cent of [Chinese students] have probably received a scam call," he told SBS News.
David said the most common scam among students was the fake courier call, followed by calls purporting to be from the Chinese embassy.
"They claim to be an officer at the embassy and they ask us to submit some sort of a file, or they ask us to assist them with some sort of a crime."
But he said universities, authorities and the embassy had reached out to Chinese students warning them about such scams.
"We have received notification from the [Chinese] embassy, telling us what they will do if an actual embassy officer calls ... They have taught us how to identify if they are authentic officers or not."
Anyone who received a call demanding money under the threat of violence should hang up, contact the Chinese consulate in Sydney to verify the claims and report the matter to police.
