Internet Love Scam..., Don't Let Yourself Become A Victim

Internet love scam is not a new issue in Malaysia. For the past few years a lot of such cases involved internet love scam which is conducted by Nigerian syndicate was been reported and to our surprise it's still prolong till now despite of the warning from local authority and government.

The latest victim was a professor from Sarawak. In her report , she said her net love posed as a handsome British men who have a very successful career and looking for the right person to be his life partner or in other word a wife. She lodged a report after she didn't received her parcel from the "British men" after she banked in the payment into required from a female caller who claimed that she is a officer from custom department. Last night the Nigerian syndicate was busted by our local authority after they traced the owner of the account bank who turned to be a local female citizen in which the victim banked in the payment. If i am not mistaken, 8 Nigerian and 1 local female was arrested. That's a good job done by our police department and we should be thankful to them for bringing down another group of heartless criminal who played with heart and love.

Then i was remember that i did once encounter a guy from Tagged who posed as a British man from wales but working at Japan as a electronic engineer who called himself as Jeff Joe. Ironically, despite of me telling him that i m just looking for friendship, he keep courting me online using a very sweet talk, so i just follow his flow and let him think that i have fallen into him. Then after few weeks chatting via MSN, he ask for my address so i give him fake one. I am not stupid and i am well aware about internet love scam. I just want to know how far he gonna do.

Few days after giving him my fake address and  my real contact number, he told me that he already shipped a package for me using courier services named as United Cago Services. He even give me the link to those courier service website to check on the parcel he sent to me and my password to check the parcel route.. Here is the link---> http://www.unitedcagoservices.page.tl/home.htm

He sound really convincing and touching when he told me what he sent to me and why he sent it, so no wonder other woman especially those who longed for a gentleman and not alert to the latest scam and fraud happened online will fall for him. Then I received a call from a foreign guy who claimed he is united cago services delivery agent in Malaysia to inform me that the parcel already arrived at KLIA and will undergo security check. You know what the guy sound like a African or Nigerian!!! I just okay to him because i am curious what will happened next.

Then i received an email from the delivery agent not from the courier services itself asking me to make payment of RM1505 for Gov tax (RM655) and custom duty (RM850) into an CIMB account number. I really wished i saved that email but since it was in my junk email then it was discarded already. In a mean while Jeff Joe keep in touch with me via MSN asking me about the parcel progress. So i told him that the parcel was arrived at Malaysia already but i couldn't afford to pay the amount asked by the delivery agent. I asked him to pay the amount for me and guess what, he give me thousand excuses including the unacceptable one like the courier service accept cash only.

So i told this British man that I am well know about shipping things because my company also deals with import export and all payment is made on delivery not before delivery and  i never heard of any courier services such as united cago services and the link he gave to me is not a website. So i told him i want to ask my friend from police department to check on the problem. Guess what, he panicked and ask me not to do anything. He said he will come to Malaysia by himself to settle the parcel problem..

Since that day i never heard any from him anymore.. It seem like he disappeared just like that.. But  I am happy and glad because I am one of those woman who manage to survive from being a victim to internet love scam. Thanks to my alertness to global and local issues. But I am bit sad because i did not no anything to prevent them from finding other victims. I mean I should tell the authority about it.

Woman especially widowed, single and loner should be more careful with online dating. Don't let yourself become another victim of internet love scam. I understand that online dating is something fun but don't let yourself carried away by it. Like I always said, use your brain not your gut and lust.

- Article from The star ( part of )

"A lonely person who receives attention via the Internet or face-to-face will be extremely vulnerable, and this can develop into a more serious relationship,” said Jaques from Integrated Psychological Network Sdn Bhd.

People fall for nice words. Lonely people will be more vulnerable to nice but empty promises.”
 
- Article from The Strait Times, Singapore

Advice from police
Members of public are advised to be aware of such scams and to adopt the following measures:
Take extra caution in befriending strangers on the internet.
1-Do not make any bank transfer payment for bail or fine. The authorities do not require any such transfer of  money.
2-Do not entertain emails or any online messages that are unfamiliar to you.
3-A culprit might spend months building rapport online before asking for money. Even if you think you know this person well, consider that you really do not know anyone from your communications over the Internet - you just know the way he/she chooses to present himself online.