Young international students are being targeted by scammers who take advantage of their poor understanding of Australian laws.
WA Police said there have been four cases since August last year in which recipients (aged between 18 and 22) were ordered to pay sums of up to $215,000 or be extradited to their home country to be processed.
Scammers often tell the victim that they are linked to a crime and use information about the victim, whether from social media or other sources, and false documents to legitimize the scam.
To protect themselves from imprisonment and speed up the process, they are offered the opportunity to pay a fee.
During the course of negotiations, scammers will advise the victim to organize an extortion attempt targeting their parents.
As the situation escalates, they are forced to fake their own kidnappings. The photographs are then sent to their families and used to demand a ransom for their safe release.
Scammers will target international students to the point that they fake their own kidnappings (pictured) to extort money from their families back home.
Detective Superintendent Peter Foley said the victims are suffering serious financial and psychological effects as a result of their ordeal.
“The vulnerable victims of the crime are young international students who are likely to have left their families for the first time and are alone in a foreign country,” Detective Superintendent Foley said.
‘Scammers take advantage of their vulnerabilities and exploit the distance between the victim and their families.
“It is virtually impossible for families to confirm that the victim is truly safe and healthy and that foreign authorities have not filed charges against them.”
Scammers take advantage of people’s trust in authority and their fear of getting into trouble.
“Feelings of helplessness and shame deter victims from contacting the police after being scammed,” Detective Superintendent Foley said.
