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Schools being asked to guard personal info from extortionists
The NCPA is asking parents and school authorities to minimise sharing of personal information about children. Pic by Priyanka Smaraweera
The Education Ministry will be advised to instruct school authorities and parents to take all possible measures to prevent the personal information of students and their families from reaching outsiders, the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) said.
Parents and school authorities are advised to be extremely vigilant after a number of money-extortion incidents via phone calls were reported in the past few weeks.
Police this week asked parents to immediately check with school authorities in case they receive calls stating that their son or daughter has been rushed to a hospital in critical condition and money is needed for treatment.
A man hailing from Mahiyanganaya was arrested by Cinnamon Gardens police after a parent of a child at a leading boys’ school in Colombo 7 filed a complaint over a distressing phone call informing them that their son has been rushed to the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital in a critical condition and is in need of over Rs. 150,000 for lifesaving surgery.
The suspect had identified himself as the class teacher. The suspect also knew that the child had a medical condition. However, when the parents called the hospital, they were informed the boy was not admitted, and school authorities confirmed his presence.
It has been learned that these scammers gather information from parents, contacts within schools, students from the same class, and school van drivers.
Police spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa said a similar complaint had been filed at Seeduwa police after a man posing as a doctor called a parent, saying their son has been admitted to the hospital with heart failure and is in need of Rs. 200,000 for surgery.
He said calls are made by individuals and organised groups, with most being reported in Gampaha, Kurunegala, and Colombo.
Chiranthika Kularatne, the deputy principal of a leading boys’ school in Kurunegala, said the parents of a fourth-grade student have made a complaint after a call to their residential phone number stating the child has been taken to Kurunegala Teaching Hospital after falling seriously ill and that money is needed for the child to be taken to the Kandy General Hospital emergency unit.
The parents checked with the hospital and later found that he was at school.
A similar incident was reported at a leading girls’ school in Kurunegala, the school confirmed. An Advanced Level student’s parents had been called, informing them that the girl had been taken to the hospital after a sudden illness and that medicine had to be purchased from outside. The suspect has given the account details, urging parents to transfer money immediately.
SSP Thalduwa said there have been incidents where families have deposited money.
The NCPA is asking parents and school authorities to minimise the sharing of personal information.
“Children are being misused, and this indirectly falls under the category of abuse. This situation should be under control, or it would take an ugly turn with ransom involved. Student information even within schools needs to be restricted, and parents should not reveal any information on WatsApp groups,” said chairman of the NCPA, Udayakumara Amarasinghe.
He said the Education Ministry will be immediately informed to take steps to increase the safety and security of students and for parents to contact the school instead of falling prey to scammers.
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