The Namibian Police Force (NamPol) is receiving an increasing number of complaints from members of the public who have fallen victim to scams.

The police force, in a media statement on Thursday, said scammers used various approaches, such as calling individuals claiming to be police officers and requesting that money be transferred through electronic bank transactions in exchange for their relatives’ release from police custody.

"No officer is authorised to accept money via electronic means in exchange for the release of a suspect from police custody," the statement said.

It further noted that criminals’ modus operandi may change from time to time and may not be similar to this approach, and as a result, the public is urged to generally be alert and to not entertain telephone conversations with strangers, to be alert at all times, and to notify the police as soon as they become the victim of such a call.

"Another way criminals scam victims is by calling them and claiming that they wrongfully deposited money into their accounts and demanding that the money be returned via e-wallet, easy wallet, blue wallet, or any other electronic funds transfer method," it said.

The police force urged members of the public to be extremely vigilant at all times and to take steps to protect themselves, amongst others, by not reacting immediately to claims of relatives being arrested, not sharing bank details, and not sending money to strangers, even if they claim to have sent money to victims in error.