'Online kidnapping': Virtual trap, real consequences

People need to limit sharing personal information on social networks and be vigilant against extremely sophisticated and dangerous tricks to avoid serious consequences. Photo: Illustration

"Online kidnapping" is a form of psychological control over the victim via phone, using tricks such as impersonating the police, prosecutors, courts, etc. through social networking platforms to threaten and trick the victim into isolating them from their family. After that, the subjects call the victim's relatives and create a "kidnapping and ransom" scenario.

A typical case in Ho Chi Minh City last July was a female student from Khanh Hoa who was accused by a person impersonating a police officer of being involved in a money laundering ring and asked to transfer 150 million VND to "prove her innocence". The subjects "sent" the victim to a hotel in Hoa Hung Ward, Ho Chi Minh City , and "locked herself" in the room.

According to this female student: "I participated in a video call, those guys said they needed to check my body, told me to take off all my clothes, filmed a video, and then they used that video to threaten and force my mother to send more money."

Similarly, Mr. D. (46 years old), residing in Viet Hung ward, suddenly received a zalo message from his daughter's account - X. (born in 2007) requesting an immediate transfer of 300 million VND, along with a video of his daughter naked.

The leader of the Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department (Thai Nguyen Provincial Police) said: Thai Nguyen province has not recorded any cases of fraud in this form. However, many localities across the country have discovered and handled similar cases. Subjects often use AI technology to fake voices, create deepfake images, and even fake video calls. In some cases, parents saw videos of their children being tied up, crying... but in fact, those were images created using technology.

Some common tricks include: Impersonating police officers to call students, informing them that they are involved in a crime ring and asking the victim to come to a hotel or motel to work. At the same time, asking the victim not to listen to any other calls other than those to "serve the investigation". Then the subjects force the victim to call their family to request money to "redeem the person".

Nowadays, some parents often share information about their children on social networks (showing off their economic conditions, showing off their academic achievements, etc.). However, in reality, this poses a potential risk for criminals to take advantage of for bad purposes, especially "online kidnapping".

From a professional perspective, Dr. Le Thi Phuong Hoa, Head of the Department of Psychology, University of Education (Thai Nguyen University), commented: Children are easily compromised by coaxing, easily panicked when someone threatens or controls them. Therefore, just by "playing the role" well, scammers can completely make them believe, listen and follow. Because they lack the ability to verify, they easily believe in the image of people wearing police uniforms and stern words. Besides, students are also targeted because they study far from home, are autonomous in all online activities, and are not supervised by anyone, so they are easily lured and manipulated.

Especially, from love and Too worried about their children, parents are easily led by emotions instead of reason; just hearing that their child's life is threatened, most will have the same reaction of anxiety, then panic, confusion, and the vigilance to analyze the problem will decrease.

To prevent the consequences of the abuse of sharing family and children's photos on social networks, people need to proactively take measures to protect personal information. Specifically: Limit posting public photos of children on social networks; set privacy settings for posts, do not accept strangers following accounts; instruct children not to share personal information with strangers via social networks.

The disclosure of personal information on cyberspace poses many risks, including sophisticated forms of fraud, such as: Impersonating police, banks, relatives to trick people into transferring money; calling, sending fake clips (like "child kidnapped") to blackmail; using information to open bank accounts, register for unsecured loans, buy goods on installments; impersonating on social networks to trick relatives and friends...

In fact, there are thousands of reasons and situations that can happen at any time, to anyone. When falling into a situation of being threatened by phone calls, people need to report to the nearest police station for support.

In addition, people need to immediately warn their relatives and friends to avoid becoming the next victim. One thing to note is that the police force does not work via phone or OTP applications (Zalo, Messenger, Telegram...). In case of needing to work with citizens, the police agency has an invitation or summons according to the provisions of law.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/phap-luat/202508/bat-coc-online-bay-ao-hau-qua-that-4287d9e/