Police foiled a scheme to extort ransom from the parents of a 19-year-old Chinese student who was threatened with deportation by scammers impersonating Singapore and China officials.
The victim received a phone call in early April from someone claiming to be an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer who accused her of disseminating false information about Covid-19 in Guangzhou, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) reported on Wednesday.
The victim was then redirected to a second scam artist posing as a Chinese police officer. As part of alleged investigations, the victim was required to make continuous video conversations to "Chinese officers" via a messaging app on her mobile phone, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The scammer warned the victim that she would be deported to China to face prosecution if she did not pay a one million yuan (S$200,000) "bond."
Due to her lack of funds, she was instructed to record and submit nude recordings of herself to show her innocence in a separate alleged criminal case.
She yielded due to fear.
On April 17, the scammer instructed the victim to isolate herself and cease all communication with others so that "investigations" could be conducted.
On the scam artists' instruction, the victim recorded a video of herself wearing torn apparel and with her wrists bound as if she were a hostage. She was informed that the video would be used to lure and arrest gang members.
However, the scammer sent the video along with a ransom demand to the victim's parents in China.
The victim's parents subsequently contacted the victim's Singaporean teacher, who reported the incident to the police. Within six hours, the police located the victim at Woodlands Checkpoint. SPF refused to explain why she was there.
In September 2022, a 16-year-old Chinese national was duped into fabricating a hostage situation to intimidate his mother after being accused of smuggling contraband cigarettes into Singapore and committing other offenses. To make the video appear genuine, he was instructed to cover himself in ketchup.
The teen had received a phone call from a "Ministry of Health officer" who accused him of smuggling and disseminating rumors about Covid-19 in China.
A 21-year-old woman was detained separately in the same month for her alleged involvement in a kidnapping scheme. The victim, who was also 21 years old, was forced to record a video of herself with her hands and legs bound, which was then used to demand over $350,000 in "ransom" from her parents in China.
SPF reaffirmed that foreign law enforcement agencies do not have the authority to conduct operations in Singapore, detain anyone, or request assistance from members of the public in any investigation without prior sanction from the Singaporean government.
The police also reminded individuals to be wary of phone calls from unknown numbers, with or without the "+" prefix, and to refrain from providing personal and financial information over the phone to unknown callers.
Anyone who suspects he is a victim of a fraud should alert the authorities, family, and friends, and resist the caller's pressure to act immediately.
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