A coder who was held captive for nearly two weeks by pyramid schemers in Tianjin was rescued after he managed to sneak a coded SOS message to his colleagues over the phone.
The victim, surnamed Zhang, managed to tell colleagues he was in trouble by speaking in coding terms right under his captors' noses.
His coworkers not only called police but helped them pinpoint his phone signal.
Zhang, who works in Nanjing, said his ordeal began while traveling to Tianjin to see friends on April 30.
On the train he met a woman who claimed her bag was stolen. After helping her with a little cash, the two parted ways.
Zhang said the woman called him the next day, saying she wanted to return the money and take him out to dinner.
But when he arrived, Zhang was surrounded by a dozen people and taken captive.
Though they had taken his phone, he was allowed to call in to work on May 12. Pretending to talk about a project, Zhang used technical language to communicate an "SOS."
Zhang's coworkers realized the situation and called police.
