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Public could play big role in averting scams: Police spokesman
View(s):The public could play a big role in arresting criminals who target the very same public, by reporting any suspicious activities, Police Spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekera told the Sunday Times.
He was referring to the two Chinese nationals who were arrested this week for being in possession of a device that could forge credit cards. They have now been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further investigations.
SP Gunasekara said Narcotics Bureau detectives who acted on a tipoff had arrested the men in Kollupitiya.
He said they did not have exact data and information on such credit card scams, but said similar cases had been reported over the course of this year and last year too.
SP Gunasekera explained that sleuths usually acted on tipoffs from official sources, on information gathered in the course of probing cases and on tipoffs from the public; he said the latter, if attentive, could play a big role in apprehending such criminals.
He said, very often those who commit such crimes show signs of doing something illegal. They go to great lengths to avoid cameras, they wear caps when using ATM machines, and try to hide what they are doing from those around them.
He said it was important that the general public be aware of such typical behaviour patterns so that they could report any suspicious activity.