9 kidnap scam calls were reported to the Police today, bringing the total number of cases reported to 21 in the past 3 days.

Similar to kidnap phone scams reported earlier, the callers threatened members of the public that their next-of-kin would be harmed unless money was transferred to them. In some instances, during the phone conversations, cries of help could be heard from the purported kidnap victim in order to make the threat seem genuine.

All the allegations were found to be untrue and no one has been kidnapped. The members of public who received the calls were also not cheated of their money. In many instances, the members of public were able to contact their loved-ones immediately to verify their safety and foil the scam.

Police remind members of the public to remain on the alert against these kidnap scams, as well as the other variations such as the lottery or lucky draw telephone scams. If the public receive kidnap scam calls, they should remain calm and try to contact their next-of-kin immediately. Should repeated attempts at contacting their loved-ones fail, they should then contact the police. In addition, the public could pose questions to the kidnapper to verify the identity of the purportedly kidnapped victim, for instance, the number of family members staying together or whether there are pets in the house, to help them establish if the call is indeed genuine.