A couple paid $80,000 after being told their teen son was kidnapped. He was found living in a tent outside Salt Lake City, police said.

• An exchange student in Utah was tricked into living alone in a tent in freezing temperatures.
• Kai Zhuang, 17, was told by scammers his parents would be in danger if he didn't follow instructions.
• His parents later paid $80,000 in ransom after being told Zhuang was kidnapped, police said.

A Chinese couple was scammed out of $80,000 after being told their son was kidnapped during his student exchange program in Utah, police said on Sunday.

But Kai Zhuang, 17, was in fact camping alone outside Salt Lake City in freezing temperatures at the ransomers' instruction, the Riverdale Police Department said in a statement.

Authorities said Zhuang was a victim of "cyber kidnapping," a ploy to convince families to pay a ransom over a kidnapping that never happened.

Scammers often target Chinese foreign exchange students, who are contacted via FaceTime or Skype and told to follow instructions or risk their families being threatened.

These students are ordered to isolate themselves and send photos depicting themselves as captives.

The criminals then send the photos to the victim's family with a ransom note.

"The cyberkidnappers continue to extort the family by using fear, tactics, photos, and voice recordings of the victim, leading the family to believe the kidnappers are with the victim causing them harm," Riverdale police said.

That's exactly what happened to Zhuang and his parents, the police statement said.

Zhuang tried to camp alone twice

Zhuang is believed to have initially been told to camp by himself away from his host family in Riverdale, police said.

He tried to follow those instructions on December 20, per officials.

Police in Provo, a city to the south of Salt Lake City, found Zhuang that day carrying camping equipment. The officers didn't know Zhuang was under duress, and took him back to his host family, police said.

But he left his host family again shortly after, and on Thursday his parents in China contacted his school saying they had received a ransom note.

According to the Riverdale police, the family had already paid $80,000 to bank accounts in China amid "continuous threats."

The police said they visited Zhuang's host family, who hadn't realized he was missing that day.

So authorities launched a search for Zhuang with helicopters and drones while using his phone and bank records to track his location.

A detective hiking up a mountainside near Brigham City eventually found the teenager "alive but very cold and scared" in a tent in the woods, police said.

"The victim had no heat source inside the tent," the Riverdale police statement said. "Only a heat blanket, a sleeping bag, limited food and water, and several phones that were presumed to be used to carry out the cyberkidnapping."

Police said that after being found, Zhuang asked for only two things: to speak to his family and to eat a warm cheeseburger.

Both requests were fulfilled while Zhuang was escorted to the Riverdale Police Department, the statement said.

There was no evidence that Zhuang was forcefully taken from his home, and he was cleared of any major medical concerns, the police said.

The virtual kidnapping scam echoes a similar scheme pulled off by prison inmates in Mexico, who targeted wealthy American tourists staying in Mexican hotels.

The callers would impersonate cartel soldiers or corrupt police officers and claim they abducted a loved one or family member, demanding a ransom.

Riverdale police said they are working with the FBI and the Chinese embassy to investigate Zhuang's case.