Don’t Be the Victim of a Kidnapping Scam!

As an international student you are the most at risk for these types of scams.

Recently, three Chinese students studying in Canada were the target of a fake kidnapping scam. The scammers contacted the students and told them to turn off their phones, go into hiding, and stay away from social media otherwise their families would be in danger. The scammers also contacted the students’ families, claiming they had kidnapped their children and that harm would come to them if they didn’t pay the ransom.

As of early this week, all three students were found and are safe.

Ke (Jaden) Xu, 16, was last seen around Eglinton Avenue East and Midland Avenue at 10:30 a.m., EST, on Thursday, November 9 and was found Monday, November 13.

Yue (Kandy) Liu, 17, was another victim, labeled missing since November 10. She figured out it was all a scam on Sunday night when she turned on her phone and found messages telling her she was safe, her family was safe, and that it was all a scam. Liu then contacted the police.

Juanwen Zhang, 20, the final missing student, had been missing since Wednesday, November 8 and was found safe Saturday, November 11.

Don’t let this happen to you!

As an international student, you are the most at risk for these types of scams. Don’t fall victim to a kidnapping scam. If you are contacted by a potential kidnapping scammer, check first to make sure that your family is okay, and/or get in touch with your international student center for help.

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This article was originally seen on the CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/chinese-student-kidnapping-1.4399959