Phoney kidnappers seem to be targeting white collar workers of late. Just this week, two colleagues received a call each from the same man within three minutes of each other.
One of them was Miss Wong, 32. The manager at a Singaporean events planning firm told local Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao that her colleague received the first phone call at about 9am on Monday.
"The moment my colleague picked up the phone, she heard someone on the other end of the line claiming to be her younger brother and telling her that he had been beaten up." Miss Wong told the newspaper.
"My colleague was at a loss as to what to do, so I took the phone from her and spoke to the 'kidnapper' instead.
"The 'kidnapper' claimed that he had my friend's younger brother with him and wanted $10,000 in ransom before he is willing to let the hostage go.
"When I passed the phone to a male colleague, the kidnapper hurled expletives at him and hung up."
Just as they thought that it was all over, Miss Wong received a call on her own phone a mere three minutes after the first one ended.
Miss Wong told Lianhe Wanbao that she heard someone saying "Mummy save me!" the moment she picked up the receiver.
"I recognised the phoney kidnapper's voice immediately, but he did not seem to realize that we had spoken before.
The man on the line told Miss Wong that he wanted $50,000 for the safe return of her son. Wanting to expose his scam, Miss Wong pretended to be very worried and even told the 'kidnapper' that she only had $8,000 with her and needed time to draw funds from the bank.
"Upon hearing that I am prepared to raise the ransom, the phoney kidnapper said that he will meet me at Pearl Centre to complete the transaction.
"He also asked me to give him my mobile phone number. I gave him a random number, after which he said that he will contact me with further instructions and promptly hung up."
Don't be a victim
Police say you can avoid falling victim to a phoney kidnapping scam by following these simple steps:
Stay calm. Don't engage the caller in a long conversation.
Try to get a description of your loved one. This will help determine if the 'kidnappers' are telling the truth.
Get a family member or friend to check whether your loved one is safe.
