It is very worrying, looking at the increasing number of kidnap phone scams and their success rate ("Spike in kidnap phone scams"; Oct 12).

Elderly folk, especially those with little or no formal education, are usually easy targets of these scammers.

Adult family members and relatives should always warn their elderly parents or grandparents about such scams.

Adult family members, including their children, should also regularly inform their elderly parents/grandparents about their whereabouts and travel plans, as well as provide emergency contact numbers for them to call.

The media should be proactively involved in awareness campaigns against such kidnap scams.

The police and grassroots organisations should work closely together to put up notices and advisories at public places, such as notice boards at void decks, monthly newsletters to residents and fliers to households.

All banks and remittance offices should look out for any irregular transactions, especially those that involve elderly customers and transfers or withdrawals involving large sums of money, and notify the authorities immediately.

Muhammad Dzul Azhan Haji Sahban