A large volume of fraudulent requests from unknown individuals demanding monies have been reported to the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force from a number of residents across the territory.
This was confirmed in a media release from the RVIPF dated Tuesday November 16, which said the territory law enforcement agency has been receiving several complaints on the subject.
“The complainants reported that telephone calls and WhatsApp messages were received from unknown foreign and local numbers demanding that money be sent. Additionally, threats were made to the complainants if the monies were not received,” the RVIPF stated.
Superintendent, St. Clair Amory reminded the public that the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force takes these types of reports very seriously.
“We are doing everything in our power to track the persons responsible for these scams to prevent any further such incidents”, he stated.
Due to the reality that anyone within the BVI public can be subjected to receiving a similar type call or message, the RVIPF has issued a number of tips for the general public to follow to reduce the likelihood of being scammed by these fraudulent individuals.
Some of the tips disseminated by the police for persons receiving such scandalous calls include: immediately terminating the call; refrain from giving out sensitive information to anyone; if requested, do not send monies to anyone for any reason; and if contacted by a suspected scammer, change the passwords of the device.
The RVIPF is asking any person who receives such requests to please report it immediately to the police and your financial institution.