How it is done

A gorgeous woman wants to get to know you, with marriage in mind.

Conned

In a recent case, Indian national Bharani Indran, 32, a software engineer in the US, was fooled by a Singaporean woman he got to know through a Yahoo Internet chatroom in September 2004. They exchanged photographs.

But the woman, Maliha Ramu, 36, sent him a picture of a gorgeous Indian actress, and he asked to marry her.

A convoluted scam followed in which he wired nearly US$45,000 to her. Meanwhile, she kept postponing their marriage date. Mr Bharani finally grew suspicious when she asked for another US$10,000 in May 2005.

He flew here and reported the scam. Maliha was jailed for six months in March.

Tips

Stay away from love at first site - chatrooms or e-mail from Internet sites, that is.

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How it is done

After hijacking the online auction account of a legitimate seller by fraudulently acquiring his password, the fraudster will offer sought-after items at very low prices.

Conned

Last September, watch collector Bernard Tan, 53, searched online auction sites for a 1970s Rolex watch. He contacted an auction site in the United States, which had many ‘testimonials from satisfied customers’.

He wired US$4,200 (S$6,400) to a bank in San Francisco for a watch he wanted, as instructed. Ten days later, a rusty 12cm iron strip arrived.

Tips

Internet auction sites are still a high risk, especially when expensive items are involved. More tips can be found on http://sg.auctions.yahoo.com

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Don’t get caught by fraudster on the Internet.

The Nigerian Scam has been around for quite long time, but despite many warnings by local authority, the scam continues to draw in many victims.

The Straits Times gives the lowdown on some time-tested ploys and uncovers some newer schemes.

How it is done
First concocted by Nigerian scammer, one version has a supposed African official offering a big cut if you could help unfreeze millions in a late bureaucrat’s bank account. But there is the catch: You have to pay cash up front to cover some transaction cost. More money is requested, snags occur, and your money is gone.

Conned
Last year, 12 Singaporean were cheated of $676,400 in this way, more than double the $327,000 lost by five victims in 2005. In 2004, the figure was $78,000. Mony other victims may be too embrassed to come forward.

Tips
Be wary of get-rich-quick-scheme that offers, say Police. Contact your local Police if you smell a ruse.

Remember: If it sound too good to be true, then it is not true.

This post is extracted from The Straits Times newspaper dated May 28, 2007 (Page H5)

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