WORKING closely with the staff of a local bank and a remittance centre, police foiled a kidnap scam attempt believed to be perpetrated by an overseas syndicate.
On Monday, the victim, a 55-year-old housewife, received a call at her home from an unknown man with a heavy Chinese accent, claiming that her son had been kidnapped and demanding a ransom of $30,000.
Hearing cries from the background, she believed her son, who was holidaying overseas, had indeed been kidnapped. Fearing for his safety, she went to an OCBC branch at People's Park Centre and withdrew $30,000.
The OCBC bank teller noticed that the victim appeared nervous and suspected that something was amiss. As the victim was constantly on the phone, the bank teller communicated with her by writing on a piece of paper. The victim revealed in writing that her son has been kidnapped and she did not want to alert the police.
The victim left the bank hastily and was seen walking towards Pearl's Centre. The bank teller immediately alerted her manager who called the Police.
The woman went to a remittance centre, WealthGate International Trading Pte Ltd and asked to urgently remit S$29,500 to an account in China. The two staff members of the remittance centre found the victim unusually anxious and suspected that she might have fallen prey to a scam. Quickly, they showed the victim advisories on phone scams and placed a hold on the remittance. They then contacted the Police.
Officers from Central Police Division and the CAD responded swiftly and met the victim at Pearl's Centre. They managed to contact her son, who was safe and sound. The full amount of cash was recovered and returned to the victim.
