Chiriqui Phone Fraud Targets Embassies

[Keith Woolford]

Other reports indicate that at least one woman was arrested in connection with this case in Boquete, where a search recovered receipts, cards, and the cell phone presumably used to make the calls

Chiriqui Phone Fraud Targets Embassies

The Public Ministry on Friday, 16 June 2017, after a series of investigations, informed citizenship and alerted to the Diplomatic Corps accredited in the Republic of Panama, about the existence of a network of scam artists that had as a mode of operation, the realization of phone calls to embassies. During the investigation were able to identify three people linked to criminal acts, recovering some of the money that was delivered through transactions to the criminals.

The prosecutor of Primary Care, Francisco Marcos Beautiful of the Primary Care section of the Metropolitan Prosecutor reported that there have been four cases of scams to several embassies in Panama, and continue with the investigations to find the capture of other people who belong to this network and could have received money transfers.

The amount of money obtained by the scammers could reach up to 40 thousand dollars, according to data from the Office of the Prosecutor. Around 30 thousand dollars have already been recovered by the Public Ministry, to locate the linked.

The Public Prosecutor's Office was able to identify that the people dedicated to scams operating in the province of Chiriqui, specifying that it is from this region of the country, where it has been withdrawn all the money they have managed to remove the victims through deception.

The scams were carried out by means of phone calls, where scammers reported that they were going through an emergency situation, managing to convince the victim to deposit the money through a bank transaction, which was withdrawn by another person in the province of Chiriquí.

These victims defrauded later they knew that there was no urgency or that the person with whom they had talked it had no need, so that submitted the complaints to the Public Ministry, while they proceeded to open ex officio investigations.

After the tracing of calls to the victims, the Public Prosecutor's Office and the National Police had issued a warrant for the arrest of two persons, which were taken to appear before a Judge of the guarantee, for which he was charged charges and by agreement of worth, were sentenced to 48 months in prison.

Currently there are other people more connected, under investigation by the Public Ministry, which are being prosecuted for the offense of fraud.

For its part, the deputy commissioner of the National Police, Hector Wong noted that in conjunction with the Public Prosecution are still on the trail of the authors of the latest allegations, also urged the public to take the recommendations to avoid being a victim of scams.

http://ministeriopublico.gob.pa/ministerio-publico-alerta-ciudadania-al-cuerpo-diplomatico-del-pais-acerca-una-red-estafa/

free translation

 

[Bonnie]

This is one of oldest scams in the book. I can't believe people are still falling for it.