KUALA LUMPUR (Malaysia): Police have warned the public to be on the alert for a syndicate that preys on families by claiming their children have been kidnapped.

Three such cases - two of which had the families pay their callers ransom totalling RM40,000 - have been reported to the city police.

City CID chief Senior Asst Comm II Datuk Ku Chin Wah said the 'kidnappers' would contact parents on their mobile phones and inform them that their child had been kidnapped and then demand a ransom.

"The syndicate members will be very adamant and do not hang up until the parent has paid the money. We believe the syndicate members obtained details of the victims through random phone interviews earlier," said SAC II Ku.

The first incident took place on March 31 when the 'kidnappers' claimed that they had abducted an 18-year-old boy.

They initially demanded RM60,000 but settled for RM12,000 after negotiations.

However, the payment was not made as the father noticed that his son was at home.

The second was on April 2 when the 'kidnappers' contacted another family and demanded RM100,000 for the release of their 13-year-old son. After much negotiations, the 'kidnappers' settled for RM35,000.

"However the parent only found out that their child was not kidnapped after transferring RM20,000 to the kidnapper's account," said SAC II Ku.

Later the same day, another woman fell prey to the scam when she banked in RM20,000 into an account number she had been given only to discover later that her daughter had never been kidnapped.

SAC II Ku urged the public, especially the Chinese community, not to fall prey for such scams and to contact the police.