The internet is a really scary place. While it helps you experience every culture across the world even if you can’t really afford the plane tickets, it has its downside too.
Like for example, a scam.
A Patient Scammer
A report in Asiaone just showed how patient online scammers could be because the scammer waited for months before he struck.
The victim is a woman in her 40s who accepted a friend request from a stranger. Somehow, even without meeting each other in real life, she fell in love with him.
And that was when the scammer took the bold step to ask for money for “his father’s hospitalisation fee”.
And She Took The Bait
The victim transferred $22,000, and with that, the scammer got even bolder.
The scammer asked for more money, this time to pay goods tax in Hong Kong.
And the victim was promised a whopping $1.2 million in cheque…in return for sending over $31,000.
And then, in order to receive that $1.2 million dollars paycheck, she would need to transfer another $32,000…before her “love” just suddenly become uncontactable.
She’s Not The Worst
If you think that this is shocking, read this: In Feb 2018, it was reported that one victim handed over almost $6 million to online scammers.
Here’s what scamalert.sg has to say on how to protect yourself against Internet love scam:
- Do not send money to people you do not know well, especially if you have not met in person
- Be in control of your emotions and meet all requests for money with a cool head, knowing that it could be a scam
- Do not reveal too much about yourself, particularly in the form of photos or videos, to prevent you from being blackmailed later on
- Contact the Police immediately if you receive any message or call from someone claiming to be in trouble overseas and urgently needs you to send money
- Inform the Police is anyone tries to extort money from you
In fact, if you can, it will be wise to bookmark scamalert.sg and get updated on the latest scam, because here’s one thing for sure: you won’t expect to be a victim until you’ve been scammed.
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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