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 From Hong Kong's Information Services Department
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February 25, 2005
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Crime
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Duo arrested for $20,000 swindle
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Hong Kong Police

Two expatriate men aged 26 and 34 have been arrested for email fraud.

 

A 26-year-old woman told Police on February 23 she had received unsolicited emails from a fraudster claiming to be domiciled in Cote d'ivoire, West Africa.

 

He claimed to have inherited US$9 million, and to avoid this inheritance being seized by other family members, he asked for the email recipient to provide a foreign bank account to receive the money.

 

Responding to this email, the victim was contacted by phone and remitted $20,000 to the fraudster, alleged to be handling fees to facilitate the transfer of the inheritance. However, the victim never received the money.

 

On February 20 she was contacted by a suspect who claimed to be in custody of the inheritance and requested she provide a further handling fee of US$4,000 for its release. The victim then made a report to Police. Officers arrested the men in Tsim Sha Tsui yesterday. They are being detained for enquiries.

 

Police reminded people to ignore any similar indiscriminate email, and if necessary report it.