Singapore - Cons in cyberspace are becoming more personalised with some victims receiving e-mails targeted at popular Chinese surnames, police said on Monday.
Five people in Singapore parted with 900 Singapore dollars (538 U.S.) to 300,000 Singapore dollars (179,000 U.S.) last year in the hope of receiving far more.
Internet Research Centre director Randolph Kluver told The Straits Times many other cases go unreported because the victims are embarrassed by their gullibility.
About 20 men between 20 and 45 have been dealt with by the courts in the city-state for such scams since 1997. Most are Africans who flew in to meet their victims. The maximum punishment for cheating is seven years in jail and a fine.
One recent e-mail mentioned in The Straits Times was targeted at people with the surname Chan. It claimed a Mr. Aleander Chan died in Britain without a will two years ago, leaving 27.5 million dollars in an unclaimed account.
The e-mail from a man describing himself as Chan's financial consultant says people with the same surname could be the next of kin and claim the inheritance. A request for money to finance legal expenses follows.
In another, someone calling himself Andrew Koh claimed he had chanced upon 15.7 million U.S. dollars sitting in a dormant United Overseas Bank account while he was conducting an audit.
He promised a quarter of the money in return for financial help in convincing the Singapore bank to release the funds to him.
Another e-mail promised recipients money from a dormant DBS Bank account.
Even a 'priest' claimed he had been promised a big donation and offered a share to victims if they sent several thousand dollars to help him arrange for bank transfers.
Police caution people not to fall for such tricks. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is, they said.
© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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