Phone scam cases up again, 19 cases reported from Dec 1-6
By Wong Mun Wai, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 08 December 2007 2341 hrs

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SINGAPORE : Phone scams claiming loved ones have been kidnapped are on the rise again.

Police saw 9 cases from November 1-29, but in the first week of December, 19 cases were reported.

The hoax involves inducing people to part with money by alleging their next-of-kin had been kidnapped and would be harmed if money was not transferred to the callers.

Police said no one has been kidnapped since they started alerting the public to the scams in August.

Of the 58 cases reported since then, the culprits were successful in only two cases.

The victims were cheated of more than $50,000.

The culprits also impersonate police or staff from the Supreme Court, a ruse which surfaced in September.

As of December 6, the police received 224 reports.

The culprits were unsuccessful in 195 cases, but in 29 cases, the victims were cheated of more than $275,500.

The impersonators would direct their victims to attend court or ask them to transfer money.

They would tell the victims that if they part with their money, they would be cleared from supposedly being involved in criminal cases or for failing to attend court hearings.

But in reality, the victims were not involved in any such criminal or court proceedings.

Police said it is normal for investigators to inform members of public over the phone about court dates and appointments at the police station for police statements.

But they stressed that the police will never ask for money to be deposited into a bank account.

The police said should the public receive requests for property deposits or disclosure of personal information, they should inform the police immediately. - CNA /ls