A 17-year-old Chinese exchange student who went missing last week was found alive in a tent in Utah’s freezing wilderness, where he was apparently told to go as part of what authorities said was a cyber kidnapping scam. Police from the city of Riverdale, where Kai Zhang was attending high school, said his parents had transferred $80,000 in ransom money to bank accounts in China because they believed he was in danger.

The case is part of a growing trend where criminals extort money from families who have children or other relatives living abroad. Victims, who are often threatened with deportation, undergo traumatizing ordeals that may involve sending staged photos to their families intended to make it appear as though they are being tortured or otherwise harmed. Perpetrators “tell the victims to isolate themselves and they monitor them through FaceTime calls and or Skype,” Riverdale Police Department said in a statement.