This is wat happen in Spore. this guy called jude, try to sell some in Evo and honda forum. cheated the funds but no show. I have been following this story up in Spore evo forums and honda forums for past 2 weeks. very interesting.
"Over two dozen car enthusiasts in local online motoring forums cheated in cheap-parts scam
MORE than two dozen motorists have been conned out of tens of thousands of dollars by a brazen Internet trickster, who has challenged them to 'catch me if you can'.
Using one of the oldest and simplest ruses in the book, a person going by the name of Jude Tan began posting messages on local Internet car forums early last month.
He claimed to be able to get bulk discounts on car parts and accessories from suppliers in Europe, and offered sought-after components such as racing gauges, sports exhaust systems, voltage stabilisers and other electronics to enhance a car's performance.
Some prices were almost half those quoted by shops here.
'His prices were very good,' said businessman Chionh Wai Kuen, 28, who transferred more than $4,600 to one of two DBS Bank accounts specified by the alleged conman.
The goods were never sent.
Some victims are trying to take action. One, computer chip salesman Simon Ling, 28, has gathered others together to file another police report.
'So far, I have 15 to 16 names,' said Mr Ling, who lost $420.
The police yesterday confirmed they have so far received two reports and are investigating.
But 'Jude Tan' is clearly confident he will get away with the scam.
Even as the victims exchanged notes in car forums about their losses, often peppering their comments with colourful language, he taunted them with messages of his own.
'Show this to the investigators. Find me if you can. Catch me if you can. Jail me if you can,' he wrote.
Forum moderators have tried unsuccessfully to keep him out of their discussions.
'I am behind many proxy servers. They are all anonymous,' he continued.
'Life is unfair. Get over it.'
Mr Chionh said he has taken part in online 'group buys' before and the deals were all successful.
'I don't know what happened this time,' he said. 'What to do? Just wait for police to get back to us.'
Group buying of parts from overseas is common in car forums. Some participants have even got together to get discounts on cars from dealers in Singapore.
According to Mr Ling, victims paid money into two DBS accounts. The owners of these accounts then paid 'Jude Tan' an equivalent amount in 'e-gold' - a cyber currency that is backed by real gold.
It is not clear at this point if the account holders are aware of the scam, but The Straits Times understands one of them is cooperating with the police.
A DBS spokesman said the two accounts were genuine but were not registered under the name 'Jude Tan'. She said DBS had not heard about the matter from any of its customers, or the police.
Lawyer Vijay Parwani of Parwani & Co said for the case to be criminal, there must be proof of 'intention to cheat'.
'Generally, if there's more than one victim, it's an inference that there's intention,' he said. 'But first, you have to catch him.'
"
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,116635,00.html?
"Over two dozen car enthusiasts in local online motoring forums cheated in cheap-parts scam
MORE than two dozen motorists have been conned out of tens of thousands of dollars by a brazen Internet trickster, who has challenged them to 'catch me if you can'.
Using one of the oldest and simplest ruses in the book, a person going by the name of Jude Tan began posting messages on local Internet car forums early last month.
He claimed to be able to get bulk discounts on car parts and accessories from suppliers in Europe, and offered sought-after components such as racing gauges, sports exhaust systems, voltage stabilisers and other electronics to enhance a car's performance.
Some prices were almost half those quoted by shops here.
'His prices were very good,' said businessman Chionh Wai Kuen, 28, who transferred more than $4,600 to one of two DBS Bank accounts specified by the alleged conman.
The goods were never sent.
Some victims are trying to take action. One, computer chip salesman Simon Ling, 28, has gathered others together to file another police report.
'So far, I have 15 to 16 names,' said Mr Ling, who lost $420.
The police yesterday confirmed they have so far received two reports and are investigating.
But 'Jude Tan' is clearly confident he will get away with the scam.
Even as the victims exchanged notes in car forums about their losses, often peppering their comments with colourful language, he taunted them with messages of his own.
'Show this to the investigators. Find me if you can. Catch me if you can. Jail me if you can,' he wrote.
Forum moderators have tried unsuccessfully to keep him out of their discussions.
'I am behind many proxy servers. They are all anonymous,' he continued.
'Life is unfair. Get over it.'
Mr Chionh said he has taken part in online 'group buys' before and the deals were all successful.
'I don't know what happened this time,' he said. 'What to do? Just wait for police to get back to us.'
Group buying of parts from overseas is common in car forums. Some participants have even got together to get discounts on cars from dealers in Singapore.
According to Mr Ling, victims paid money into two DBS accounts. The owners of these accounts then paid 'Jude Tan' an equivalent amount in 'e-gold' - a cyber currency that is backed by real gold.
It is not clear at this point if the account holders are aware of the scam, but The Straits Times understands one of them is cooperating with the police.
A DBS spokesman said the two accounts were genuine but were not registered under the name 'Jude Tan'. She said DBS had not heard about the matter from any of its customers, or the police.
Lawyer Vijay Parwani of Parwani & Co said for the case to be criminal, there must be proof of 'intention to cheat'.
'Generally, if there's more than one victim, it's an inference that there's intention,' he said. 'But first, you have to catch him.'
"
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,116635,00.html?
