'Virtually kidnapped' Chinese students in Australia

Police in New South Wales are warning of a rise in "virtual kidnapping" scams, where scammers force victims to fake their own abductions in order to secure ransom money from their families. Four such fake kidnappings have been reported to NSW Police in the last month, with Chinese international students being targeted. The scammers then contact the victims' families back in China and extort the ransom money from them. Chinese officials have assured families that no government agents or officials would ever call students looking for money.