The Singapore Police Force (SPF) warned netizens and members of the public against a new tactic used in kidnap scams that involve foreign students in a Facebook post earlier today.
They said that over the past two days, the police received three reports from parents and guardians on the kidnap of Chinese national students in Singapore.
In their Facebook post the police said that a female Chinese national studying in Singapore received an unsolicited call on June 11 from a scammer who claimed to be a Chinese government official.
The scammer told the victim that she was allegedly involved in a child smuggling case, and asked for her assistance in their investigations. The scammers also instructed the victim to withdraw S$22,010 from her bank account and give the money to an unknown man. The victim was also made to make another withdrawal of S$4,800 to purchase cryptocurrencies for the scammers.
She was then told to not contact anyone in the days that followed. The police also added that the scammers also contacted the victim’s parents to claim that their daughter had been kidnapped by them in Singapore.
The police also warned that under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, any person who is guilty of knowingly assisted in dealing with the monies derived from criminal conduct shall be liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding $500,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to both.
obbana@theindependent.sg