Kidnapping scam targeting Chinese students has community worried

 York University is communicating with  student leaders and using social media platforms like WeChat, one of China’s most influential social media platforms, to warn students about scams.Kidnapping scam targeting Chinese students has community worried

Two weeks ago, Yiheng Feng received a chilling phone call. The person on the other line warned him, in a calm but concerned voice, that he was in imminent danger and must go into hiding immediately.

But it’s all a scam.

Toronto police have reported three cases of Chinese international students who went into hiding in the last week after being told not to use their cell phones in order to protect their families. They were missing for days before they were found, the latest victims of a world-wide scam making its way across the province.

“I was worried,” said Feng, president of the York Chinese Students Association. “They sounded like they cared; as if you are in very deep trouble and they are trying to help. They didn’t sound like they wanted anything from you. They didn’t even ask for a credit card number or anything.”

On Tuesday, police said at least two Hamilton students had been victims of the scam. On Friday morning, York Region police also issued a warning.

The scam has two parts: First, the caller, posing as a Chinese law enforcement or government official, asks the student to go into hiding to prevent their family in China from being harmed. They are also told not to use their cellphones or go on social media. Then, the scammers contact the families in China, demanding a ransom and telling them their children have been kidnapped.

International students are extremely vulnerable, said Diana Ning, associate director at York University’s international student department, adding that these students often face language and cultural barriers.

“Sometimes international students feel alone and disconnected because they are not familiar with the community support services and face barriers accessing them,” Ning said. “This makes them very vulnerable and a target for these criminal acts.”

Feng said people in his community and their parents in China are very concerned. Scams, he said, are an issue many parents have dealt with before but it’s still very frightening.

“People feel worried, three people were lost, everyone has been posting comments on social media expressing their fear,” Feng said. “We are foreigners studying in Canada so we really care for each other and we don’t want these things happening, we don’t want anyone to be harmed.”

The reason why some students trust the caller is because often times they have very detailed information about the victim, including their name, email and phone number, Feng said.

“Very few people know my real name, it can only be found in my official documents,” Feng said. “I have no idea where they got the information from.”

A spokesperson for the Chinese Consulate General in Toronto said they are aware of the scam.

“The Chinese Consulate General has continuously posted warnings in its website and social media, and forwarded these messages to local Chinese media and Chinese community, in the hope that the information can be read and Chinese people here can keep high alert,” said spokesperson Zhishan Chen in an email.

As the population of international students grows in the country, Ning said it’s extremely important for universities, cities and community services to communicate with students in Chinese for these urgent matters and understand their culture.

York University, she said, is communicating with student leaders and using social media platforms like WeChat, one of China’s most influential social media platforms, to warn students about these kinds of scams.

“This needs to be a wake-up call, we love to welcome students because they bring so much to the country but do we as a Canadian society understand the issues facing international students?,” Ning asked. “Because they do face barriers when something dangerous like this happens.”