I REFER to the letter "Hang up on those scam calls" by Mr Wong Shao Voon (my paper, Aug 11).
I used to get many scam calls every week from a "TV station" which said that I had won a lucky-draw or lottery prize in Hong Kong or Malaysia.
I would hang up as advised by the police. However, hanging up did not stop further calls from coming.
I then hit upon the idea of "counter-scamming". I would play along with the caller and even give my real particulars, except for my NRIC number.
After a few weeks, when they asked me to collect the "prize", I promised them that I would do so. When I did not turn up, they would call to remind me.
Eventually, when I still did not turn up after many calls, they realised that they had been "counter-scammed". They then stopped calling. They had wasted a lot of time and telephone charges on me. My mobile plan includes free incoming calls, so I incurred no costs.
This tactic gives scammers less time to call others to scam them. They also have to spend much time and effort trying to pick out gullible potential victims.
If everyone does that, they would eventually give up, knowing that their efforts are useless.
The same tactic can be applied to kidnapping scams. However, call your child first to confirm that he/she has not been kidnapped.
Collectively, we can outsmart the scammers and put a stop to their activities.
