SPGs Conned by Faked Angmo on Online Scams

[Pinkieslut]

SINGAPORE : Soaring numbers of Singaporeans — mostly women — are falling victim to “Internet love scams” police said in a Valentine’s Day warning that criminals are exploiting lonely hearts increasingly turning to the web to find partners.
The number of people robbed by online con artists faking romantic interest before tricking people out of money jumped 62 percent between 2012 and 2013, police said in an annual crime briefing.

Official figures also show e-commerce rackets doubled to 509 in 2013.

The total amount reported lost to such forms of fraud in 2013 was Sg$6.01 million ($4.75 million), police said, a steep rise from Sg$1.20 million in 2012.

Police said the victims of the online love scams were mainly women searching for partners in social networks and on dating websites.

The perpetrators, who mostly claimed to be British nationals though it is unclear where they were actually from, would ask the victims to transfer money to save them from difficult situations.

Ng Guat Ting, the police director of public affairs, attributed the surge in cyber crime to rising Internet usage in the affluent Southeast Asian city-state.

Official figures show 84 percent of Singapore’s 5.4 million population have access to the Internet.

“Naturally there are more people and more traffic, and therefore there will be an increase in criminal elements,” Ng told reporters at the briefing.

She did not speculate on why the figures rose so dramatically in 2013 but said many of the cases arose because members of the public were entrusting money with people who they had not physically met or known previously.

The e-commerce scams mainly hit people who made purchases of technology products such as smartphones and tablets but did not receive what they paid for.

Many also made further payments after the perpetrators told them the shipments faced problems with customs authorities or the courier.

Police said the overall crime rate dipped to the lowest level in 30 years.

The numbers of murders rose to 16 in 2013 from 11 in 2012, but police said all the cases had been solved.

Singapore is known for its tough stance on crime. The death penalty is mandatory for certain crimes such as drug trafficking and murder.--AFP


Read more: Soaring numbers of women fall prey to web love scams - Latest - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/soarin...prey-to-web-love-scams-1.484250#ixzz2tqaawWqi

 

[Pinkieslut]

Friday, February 14, 2014 - 10:53
The New Paper
She met "Denny Crane" on Facebook last July.

When "Denny", who claimed to be Irish, expressed interest in her, they became online lovers.

What the 60-year-old Singaporean woman did not know was that "Denny" was a Nigerian based in Kuala Lumpur and was part of a "love parcel scam".

China Press reported that some time in August, "Denny" sent the woman an e-mail saying that he was sending a parcel containing £750,000 (S$1.5 million) to her home in Johor Baru.

She received an e-mail on the same day from a supposed courier saying that the parcel had already arrived at customs and that she would have to pay transaction and insurance fees for the parcel to claim it.

She was given instructions to deposit RM560,000 (S$210,000) into 12 bank accounts to pay the fees.

She was so taken by "Denny's" sweet talk and romantic advances that she did not suspect that anything was amiss.

When the last transaction was made and the parcel did not arrive, she realised she had been duped.

She lodged a police report on Jan 21.

BUSTED

Last week, the Malaysian police tracked down the syndicate that "Denny" was part of. They arrested one woman and five other Nigerian men.

They also seized 21 ATM cards, 14 bank passbooks, 10 mobile phones, one passport and one laptop.

The five Nigerians, aged between 26 and 39, are in Malaysia on student visas.

Their role in the scam was to look for victims online and gain their confidence and trust by feigning interest in them.

It is believed that the woman was the mastermind of the syndicate, which has been around for at least two years.

The woman, a 42-year-old Malaysian, admitted to being involved in previous scams. She does not have a stable job and allegedly organises scams like these to make money, China Press reported.

It was also reported that she was romantically involved with the five Nigerian men who are part of the syndicate and that she has 12 children by different men.

The woman, who also acted as a bank account holder for the syndicate, has admitted to receiving between RM1.5 million and RM2 million in transactions.

The police said that the syndicate made about RM7.8 million from the scam during the past two years.

The Star reported that nine other Malaysians, including six women, who were working for the syndicate were also arrested.

It was reported that they received four to five per cent of the total transactions if they let the syndicate use their accounts to launder money.

Past cases of 'love scams'

JUNE 2013

Sixty foreigners, including 49 Nigerians, who were involved in an elaborate love scam were arrested in Malaysia. Their modus operandi was to court women through social media and promise to send them pricey gifts. Then, they would say the items had been seized by customs and needed money to release them.

SEPTEMBER 2012

Nigerian Akibon Michael Mayokun, 33, was arrested in Malaysia over allegations that he swindled a Singaporean woman after romancing her online.

He claimed trial and was acquitted after the prosecution offered no more evidence.

JULY 2012

Two Singaporean women were jailed six and four months for laundering criminal proceeds.

They had allowed their bank accounts to be used by Nigerians who scammed others of money by claiming they had been detained at Changi Airport and needed money for their release.

 

[GoldenDragon]

Understand Guat Ting is going to retire soon.