本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Cops In Toronto, York And Durham Alarmed Over Ongoing Extortion Scheme
Tuesday April 28, 2009
CityNews.ca Staff
It's been happening in Toronto.
It's been happening in York Region.
And it's been happening in Durham.
Police forces in all three areas are dealing with the same crime: an apparent extortion ring that appears to be targeting members of the Chinese and Asian communities.
The scheme starts when a letter arrives at a local business demanding money, and warning of major violence to the recipient if he or she doesn't pay up immediately. In some instances, people have also been contacted by phone with the same threats being made.
The caller is always a man speaking Mandarin, telling the victims he needs a large amount of cash to help either his brothers, relatives or friends - who have killed people - to leave the country in order to escape the police.
It's not clear if anyone has paid any ransom to avoid the violence or whether anyone has actually been hurt.
But both York Regional Police and Toronto Police have noticed an increase in the harassment over the past few weeks and are warning those who may receive either form of communication not to respond in any way.
Call the cops instead and make sure you save the evidence.
York Police say most of the victims in their area have been from Markham or Richmond Hill. And their Toronto counterparts plan to hold a news conference on Tuesday to address similar demands being made to business owners in the city.
It appears that many of the victims have advertised in Chinese media such as newspapers, television and radio. The suspects appear to be using the personal information from the advertisements to perpetrate the extortion.
Here's what authorities say you should do if you get one of the calls or the letters:
* Use *57 on your phone immediately after the caller hangs up. That engages a phone service known as call trace, which is supposed to flag the number, date and time where the original call came from.
* In a case where clues are limited, anything can help. Try to listen for background noise on the call, which could help identify where the suspects are. The sounds of lots of air traffic for example, means they could be located near an airport. But anything you can glean could help point investigators in the right direction.
* Keep notes of what was said during the conversation, no matter how short it may have been.
* Safeguard your home by keeping all your doors and windows locked after you've been threatened.
* Tell your family not to answer the door unless they know who's there.
* Report any suspicious vehicles outside your home or business to police. They'll come and check it out.
Source: York Regional Police更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
Tuesday April 28, 2009
CityNews.ca Staff
It's been happening in Toronto.
It's been happening in York Region.
And it's been happening in Durham.
Police forces in all three areas are dealing with the same crime: an apparent extortion ring that appears to be targeting members of the Chinese and Asian communities.
The scheme starts when a letter arrives at a local business demanding money, and warning of major violence to the recipient if he or she doesn't pay up immediately. In some instances, people have also been contacted by phone with the same threats being made.
The caller is always a man speaking Mandarin, telling the victims he needs a large amount of cash to help either his brothers, relatives or friends - who have killed people - to leave the country in order to escape the police.
It's not clear if anyone has paid any ransom to avoid the violence or whether anyone has actually been hurt.
But both York Regional Police and Toronto Police have noticed an increase in the harassment over the past few weeks and are warning those who may receive either form of communication not to respond in any way.
Call the cops instead and make sure you save the evidence.
York Police say most of the victims in their area have been from Markham or Richmond Hill. And their Toronto counterparts plan to hold a news conference on Tuesday to address similar demands being made to business owners in the city.
It appears that many of the victims have advertised in Chinese media such as newspapers, television and radio. The suspects appear to be using the personal information from the advertisements to perpetrate the extortion.
Here's what authorities say you should do if you get one of the calls or the letters:
* Use *57 on your phone immediately after the caller hangs up. That engages a phone service known as call trace, which is supposed to flag the number, date and time where the original call came from.
* In a case where clues are limited, anything can help. Try to listen for background noise on the call, which could help identify where the suspects are. The sounds of lots of air traffic for example, means they could be located near an airport. But anything you can glean could help point investigators in the right direction.
* Keep notes of what was said during the conversation, no matter how short it may have been.
* Safeguard your home by keeping all your doors and windows locked after you've been threatened.
* Tell your family not to answer the door unless they know who's there.
* Report any suspicious vehicles outside your home or business to police. They'll come and check it out.
Source: York Regional Police更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net