Earlier this year, authorities in the US state of Utah found a 17 year old student alone in the wilderness 'very cold and scared'. The student, Kai Zhuang, had been exploited by cyber scammers who threatened him into isolating himself to extort money from his parents in China.

It marks the latest example of a trend which also been seen here in Australia.

Guest: Dr Magnus Fiskesjö teaches anthropology and Asian studies at Cornell University; former cultural attaché at the Swedish embassy in Beijing