Men falling for online sex con
Lianhe Wanbao
Con men are now pretending to be underage girls to blackmail men online.
More than ten men have fallen victim to such blackmail-cons, which are known to have started since March this year. In the con, a person will pose as an underage girl offering sex on the internet.
Several suggestive photos will often be seen in ads under headings like "Cute schoolgirl looking for a different kind of fun with mature men", or "Sociable girl looking for casual fun with Caucasian men".
The "girls" all claim to be at least 18 years old in their posts. When contacted, the "girl" will not answer the phone and will instead send an SMS to say that she is actually only 15 years old, and willing to have sex for cash.
After the offer for sex, the con victims will receive SMSes from the girl's supposed "father", threatening to bring the case to the police. A short while later, victims will receive SMSes from a supposed "policeman" asking them to go to the station to assist in investigations.
At this point, the girl's "father" will SMS again to ask for money to drop the case. A reporter checked out one such ad where a girl introduced herself as 15 years old, Chinese, 1.45m, 37kg, bust size 32B. The girl was offering sex services for $200.
Soon after contacting her, the reporter received SMSes from her "father" threatening to alert the police. Soon, the reporter received SMSes from a "policeman" warning that soliciting with an underage girl is a crime, and instructing the recipient of the SMS to go to the station the next day for investigations.
However, the "policeman" also suggests for the parties involved to resolve the matter themselves. After a while, the "father" sent more SMSes asking for $5,000 to drop the case.
The reporter responded by bargaining the price down to $3,000, and the "father" quickly sent over his bank account number. A lawyer says that in such cases, the conmen and the victims may all be committing various crimes. But if the case is proven to be a con, the victim will likely not be charged.
Source: Lianhe Wanbao, 22 November 2011.
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