SINGAPORE: Police have advised the public not to fall prey to cheats, following a jump in the number of Singaporeans who had been tricked into parting with cash in "Scratch and Win" scams in Johor Bahru.
Police said the number of such cases rose from eight in 2010 to 46 between January and May this year.
In these cases, victims were informed that they had won prizes in foreign lottery or lucky draws.
The suspects would ask the victims to make advance payment if they wanted to claim the prizes.
They also offered the victims car rides to withdraw large sums of money.
After
handing their cash to the suspects, the victims realised that the
prizes did not exist or were of much lower value than promised.
Police also highlighted a series of extortion cases, using tactics that were similar to those of the "Internet Love Scam".
Here, victims were befriended by culprits online and were later persuaded to pose naked on the webcam.
The culprits recorded the footage and threatened to circulate it online if the victims did not transfer money to them.
Police will highlight these cheating tactics in the next episode of Crimewatch on TV.
It
will be shown on MediaCorp's channels at 9pm on Channel 5 on 24 June,
9.30pm on Vasantham on 27 June, 8.30pm on Suria on 28 June, and 8.30pm
on Channel 8 on 29 June.
- CNA/ir