Beware! Singapore Phone Scam. Don't Be The Next Target. Please read and forward.

This morning, my maternal grandmother received a call from an unlisted number. The person on the line claimed to have nabbed my 2nd Uncle, and demanded $20,000. Knowing that my 2nd Uncle is tough and used to get into fights - and won, throughout his youth and early working life, she asked the person how she could be sure that he was really nabbed. The unidentified caller merely held the phone somewhere else, and my grandmother heard non-distinct whimpering and crying noises from a male in the background. At that point, as my Mom and Aunt happened to be at her place, my grandmother smartly put the phone on speaker-mode so that the two could know what was going on. She told the caller that she wanted to make a call to my Uncle to ascertain that he was indeed captured. However, the caller insisted that he would not hang up until my grandmother could agree to pay the ransom. 

I just received a phonecall from my mother, who phoned to ascertain that I was ok. In the span of time that my grandmother was stalling time with the caller, my mom and aunt had called and smsed everyone in the immediate family to confirm that they were all ok. 

We thus verified that the phonecall was a hoax, and an attempt to scam my grandmother of ransom. Subsequently, my mother lodged a report to the police, and sought their help to trace the number of the prank caller. 

Within minutes, they received another phone number, and the caller claimed to be a policeman, to ask for further information. Out of concern that the 2nd call was bona-fide, from the police, and not a timed response by the earlier prankster, my family members refused to divulge further info on address and personal particulars unless the said caller would meet them at the nearby neighbourhood police post. 

I did not pick this out from any lame sms or forwarded email. This is a real experience that my maternal grandmother, mom, and aunt just witnessed. I just wanted to type this out immediately and forewarn all of you, because the scam-prankster might be part of a syndicate and have more targets. DO NOT be quick to agree to paying the demanded ransom. It could well be fake, but warn the folks at home to promptly verify everyone's safety as well. 

Julian, a.k.a. The Professional Bum