A campaign against extortion will be presented in Guayaquil: these are the recommendations to deal with this crime

“I stopped extortion. Don’t pay, report it!” That is the name of the campaign that the Anti-kidnapping and Extortion Unit (Unase), of the National Police, promotes in the country and that will be presented in Guayaquil this Wednesday, February 15.

The Main Port is one of the towns with the highest incidence of the crime of extortion, also known as vaccine, through which antisocials demand periodic payment from their potential victims in exchange for giving them supposed protection or not directly attacking their lives.

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The purpose of this initiative is to guide citizens on how to act in the event of receiving threats of this type, to whom to report and under what mechanisms, to avoid being a victim of this crime.

The campaign has been in force since last year in Quito and from this Wednesday it will be applied in Guayaquil and other towns in the province of Guayas, as well as in other territories on the Coast.

Complaint channel

If you are a victim of extortion, you can call the line 1800 335486.

“The message to the public is basically to lose fear. That Unase, that the National Police of Ecuador are working to give you an answer to this type of crime. That they lose their fear, that they tell us, that it is not even necessary to denounce officially, if they transmit the information to us and be able to advise them, with that we would already be earning a lot as the National Police, “said one of the members of Unase.

According to said specialized unit, there are many cases that they have known in which people who do not necessarily have a criminal record have tried to extort money from others by posing as members of criminal organizations.

This type of case has become more common than it seems, precisely because of the fear that has been sown among citizens.

And for this reason the campaign aims to counteract this situation.

What to do in the event of an extortive contact?

Within the framework of the campaign that will become official this Wednesday the 15th, Unase recommends the following actions:

– Keep calm.

– Listen carefully to the instructions, as well as the information that the extortionist expresses. Do not correct or feed the dialog with additional information.

– Evaluate the accuracy of the information exposed so that you can identify the form of extortion to which you are exposed.

– If possible, record the extortion call.

– Do not confront the extortionist or close the call immediately.

– Do not offer amounts of money or agree to a payment.

– Appear panic, submission, so that the extortionist does not suspect that you are in control of the situation.

– Continually insist that you have no money, but make it clear to the extortionist your intention to collaborate.

– Call 1800 335486 immediately to channel the advice of Unase.

How to avoid being a victim of extortion?

The Anti-Kidnapping and Extortion Unit suggests to the public:

– Take alternate routes when leaving home, work or an educational institution. Avoid the same route.

– Do not give information about your economic and financial movements to anyone.

– If you have staff working for you, verify their complete information, background and family environment.

– Maintain permanent communication with your family about the places you are going to visit and who you will be with.

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– If you park your vehicle in a public or private place, check that there are no suspicious people hanging around

– Protect your electronic devices to prevent the proliferation of computer viruses.

– Do not make appointments with unknown people and in remote places. (YO)