'Kidnapped' man turns out to be scam victim

The case of a man, 21, believed to have been kidnapped took an unexpected turn when the police found that the victim and his family had transferred more than $560,000 to scammers impersonating officials from China.

Acting on a scammer's instructions, he had isolated himself in a hotel room in Singapore and recorded videos of himself with his hands placed behind his back to convince his family in China that he was in trouble, said the police in a statement yesterday.

The Straits Times understands that he complied because he was threatened by the scammers.

Last Friday, the police received a report at about 1.30am that a 21-year-old man had allegedly been kidnapped. Based on the report, they learnt his family had been receiving videos of the victim and ransom demands from an unknown person with a Fujian accent who was believed to be in China.

Officers from the Tanglin Police Division, Criminal Investigation Department and Commercial Affairs Department were activated and conducted an extensive search operation and investigations to locate the victim.

He was eventually found to be safe in a hotel on the same day at about 9.30am, about eight hours after the police report was made.

Preliminary investigations revealed the victim had received an unsolicited call purportedly from an officer from the Ministry of Health last November.

The victim's call was later redirected to other scammers who claimed to be police officers from China, said the police.

The scammers allegedly claimed that the victim was involved in money laundering offences in China and sought his cooperation to help their investigations.

Between Dec 22 last year and Jan 24, the victim and his parent transferred more than $560,000 to bank accounts provided by the scammer on several occasions.

The police reminded the public that China Police, Interpol and other overseas law enforcement agencies have no jurisdiction to conduct operations in Singapore, arrest anyone or ask the public to help with any form of investigations without the approval of the Singapore Government.

Since 2019, scams involving the impersonation of China officials have ranked among the top five scams here, with a total of $49.5 million lost in the first half of last year .

The police warned the public to take the following precautions when they receive unsolicited calls from unknown parties, especially those with the "+" prefix that indicates they originate from overseas callers.

No government agency will instruct payment through undocumented media such as a telephone call or a social messaging platform like WeChat, or ask for personal banking information such as Internet banking passwords, said the police.

Foreign residents who receive calls from people claiming to be police officers or government officials from their home country should call their embassy or high commission to verify the claims of the callers, they added.

The police warned against giving personal information, bank details and one-time passwords to anyone.

The public should also avoid making any fund transfer if the caller is of dubious identity.

They are also advised to call a trusted friend or talk to a relative before they act as they may be overwhelmed by emotion and make wrong judgments.