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Source:
www.spf.gov.sg |
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Phone Scams Making Use Of
Kidnap Ruse And Impersonating As Supreme Court Staff Or Police
Officers Continues |
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Confidence tricksters continue to use the
"Kidnap Hoax Scam" with 9 cases reported between 1 and 29 November 07
and 19 cases reported between 1 and 6 Dec 07. |
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The cheating ruse is employed to induce
people to part with money by alleging that their next-of-kin had been
kidnapped and would be harmed if money was not transferred to the
callers. The allegations were untrue and no one had been kidnapped. |
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Police had earlier in August 07 alerted
members of public of this cheating ruse when it surfaced. Of the 58
cases reported since Aug 07, the culprits were unsuccessful in all but
two cases, in which the victims were cheated of more than S$50,000 cash. |
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Members of public are advised to remain calm
and call the Police immediately if they are approached in a similar
manner. Police investigations of these cases are on-going. |
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Another ruse used by the cheats is to
impersonate themselves as police officers or staff from the Supreme
Court. The impersonators would direct them to attend court or request
for transfer of monies and attempt to induce their victims into parting
with money, presumably to exonerate them from involvement in criminal
cases or for failure to attend court hearings. In reality, the victims
were not involved in any such criminal or court proceedings. |
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This method of cheating surfaced in
September 07 which prompted police to alert members of public. As of 6
December 07, a total of 224 reports were received. The culprits were
unsuccessful in 195 cases, but in 29 cases the victims were cheated of
more than S$275,500 cash. |
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It is normal during the course of police
work for investigators to inform members of the public over the phone on
Court dates and appointments at the police station for police
statements. However, police will never ask for money to be deposited
into a bank account. If such requests for property deposits or personal
information disclosure are received, they should be reported to the
police immediately. |
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The public is advised to be wary when
receiving phone calls or other forms of communication. Cheating scams
may take different forms but these scams are all designed to cheat
victims into parting with their money. When in doubt, the public is
advised to verify the caller's identity with the agency or organisation
the caller claims to be from. |
PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
07 December 2007 at 5.00pm |
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Source:
www.spf.gov.sg News Release 7
Dec 2007 |
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Related Article: |
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Tricksters impersonating Supreme Court staff and
police officers |
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FrontPage Edition: Thu 13 December 2007
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