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http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Malaysia/Story/A1Story20090603-145767.html
African scammers cheat educated Malaysians of $8.3million
Wed, Jun 03, 2009
The Star/Asia News Network
KUALA LUMPUR: African scammers have cheated Malaysians out of a staggering RM20 million (S$8.3 million) in recent years, police have said.
Ironically, the majority of victims appear to have been well-educated, and include lawyers, accountants, academicians and even politicians. Extensive publicity about such scams failed to rein in their greed.
Incredibly, a number of victims even took loans from loan sharks to pay the con artists.
The crooks come from nations like Nigeria, Liberia, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
They have run at least 11 internationally- known scams in Malaysia, ranging from the "black money" scheme - in which victims buy expensive chemicals that supposedly remove black dye coating banknotes - to the dangling of inheritances which promise non-existent wealth.
Most of the crooks enter the country on a social-visit pass, which allows them to stay up to 30 days.
Once they arrive, they typically enrol in local colleges, which allows them to obtain student visas.
While some of these colleges are reputable ones, others are shadier operations with African enrolments of up to 70 per cent.
The conmen are believed to pay off college staff to mark their attendance while they go about their nefarious business.
Cheating gullible Malaysians is highly profitable.
Some of the so-called students live in posh condominiums and drive luxury cars like the BMW X5.
In a raid recently, police arrested 29 Nigerians at an office at Metro Prima in Kepong.
All those arrested claimed to be undergraduates studying in the Klang Valley. They even tried to get out of producing their passports, proferring their student cards instead.
However, when the police then raided the Africans' residence, no textbooks were found - only computers and laptops.
Using laptops along with a special software, the conmen are known to be able to forge government documents.
-The Star/Asia News Network
African scammers cheat educated Malaysians of $8.3million
Wed, Jun 03, 2009
The Star/Asia News Network
KUALA LUMPUR: African scammers have cheated Malaysians out of a staggering RM20 million (S$8.3 million) in recent years, police have said.
Ironically, the majority of victims appear to have been well-educated, and include lawyers, accountants, academicians and even politicians. Extensive publicity about such scams failed to rein in their greed.
Incredibly, a number of victims even took loans from loan sharks to pay the con artists.
The crooks come from nations like Nigeria, Liberia, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
They have run at least 11 internationally- known scams in Malaysia, ranging from the "black money" scheme - in which victims buy expensive chemicals that supposedly remove black dye coating banknotes - to the dangling of inheritances which promise non-existent wealth.
Most of the crooks enter the country on a social-visit pass, which allows them to stay up to 30 days.
Once they arrive, they typically enrol in local colleges, which allows them to obtain student visas.
While some of these colleges are reputable ones, others are shadier operations with African enrolments of up to 70 per cent.
The conmen are believed to pay off college staff to mark their attendance while they go about their nefarious business.
Cheating gullible Malaysians is highly profitable.
Some of the so-called students live in posh condominiums and drive luxury cars like the BMW X5.
In a raid recently, police arrested 29 Nigerians at an office at Metro Prima in Kepong.
All those arrested claimed to be undergraduates studying in the Klang Valley. They even tried to get out of producing their passports, proferring their student cards instead.
However, when the police then raided the Africans' residence, no textbooks were found - only computers and laptops.
Using laptops along with a special software, the conmen are known to be able to forge government documents.
-The Star/Asia News Network
