Updates to Singapore Phone Scam

Multiple people might be targetted. Benjamin, my girlfriend's bandmate's mother received a similar phonecall with regard to "her son being nabbed". Her reply? "Haha. My son's in University. Beat more la!" 

The caller speaks in a mix of mandarin and hokkien profanity.

My grandmother received 2 more calls. Both calls, my aunt answered. In the second call, the same called to ask if she had the money ready. Having ascertained this is a hoax, she played along and replied that she needed to go to the bank.

15 minutes later, she received the 3rd call. She said she had yet to go to the bank. The same caller said this time, he wanted $40,000.  She pretended, "sorry, I'm out of job. I only have $500."

Then the caller was convinced and said, "fine then... $700, and I release him", "give me your handphone number, so we can arrange for meetup later." 

My aunt then said, "Sorry.. I'm out of job. Can't afford to have a phone".

Then the caller told her to go borrow a phone and that he'll be calling back again.

My mom had made a trip down to the police post, and was told to work together on apprehending the scammer.

DO NOT at anyone time divulge any personal details, address or phone numbers to the scammers. They may use pressure tactics to try and lure the weak-minded out.

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