Blackmailed after cybersex

The woman claimed to be a Singaporean living overseas. Last month, "Celine" contacted William (not his real name) through social networking site Tagged.

At first, they left each other messages. Soon after, they exchanged e-mail and chatted on MSN.

In one of the chats, Celine, who claimed to be in her 20s and living in Hong Kong, suggested they have cybersex.

Since he had seen her in person via his web camera, William said he didn't have reason to doubt her sincerity.

He said it was "odd" that a woman claiming to be Singaporean "spoke with a Filipino accent".

"But I thought it was for fun and stupidly didn't think much of it as we progressed along," confessed the 20-year-old student.

William claimed that while they were chatting, Celine began taking off her clothes and suggested they have cybersex.

He complied and started masturbating.

Later, Celine asked William for his e-mail address, presumably to add him as a friend on Facebook.

He accepted her Facebook friend request, but was shocked when she later sent him a text file with a list of all his friends on Facebook.

Celine then threatened him: Wire transfer $1,000 to a Western Union account or she would send to his friends a video clip of William masturbating, which she said she had recorded earlier.

She apologised for "blackmailing" him, claiming she needed the cash urgently to help her family.

Said William: "I couldn't afford that amount... (But) I asked for the details (on the pretext that he wanted) to transfer the money. I ignored her after that and never heard anything from her any more."

He did not make a police report, but deactivated his Facebook account. Celine's Tagged account has since been deactivated too.

"It was a stupid thing to do, but it is a lesson learnt," William said sheepishly.

The scam is said to be spreading quickly on Tagged, a social networking site similar to Facebook.

The site, which was founded in 2004, allows members to browse the profiles of other members, play games and share virtual gifts.

In some cases, the swindler asks for money, saying she has to get out of a bad situation or to help family members pay for medical expenses.

There have also been reports of Tagged users being offered entry into an "exclusive group sex club with top Asian models".

To join, all the user has to do is to disclose his credit card details.

Cyber experts told The New Paper that there have been cases of scammers gaining access to a victim's private details simply by getting hold of that person's e-mail address.

Mr Patrick Lim of cybersecurity provider Ademco Security Group said users should always err on the side of caution when confronted with such offers.

This is especially important as more scam operators continue to use fictitious personas to lure people into sending them money.

"These operators are trained to do social engineering and to trick you into revealing your personal information," he said.

"You should never compromise your position when you are chatting online with people you do not know, especially when there is a danger of the other party recording whatever it is you are doing online," added Mr Lim.

While William said he emerged from the encounter relatively unscathed, others have not been so lucky.

A 38-year-man who works in the service industry admitted he was duped by a woman he met on Tagged last July.

Rashid (not his real name) said he did not report the incident to the authorities.

He said: "I came across the girl's profile, we exchanged e-mail (addresses) and started chatting."

On one occasion after they had cybersex, the woman threatened to send a video clip of Rashid masturbating to his Facebook contacts.

"I should not have given her my Facebook address.

"She said she needed the money for her family and I foolishly wired $500 over with the promise that she would meet me when she came to Singapore. I never heard from her again," he said.

The woman's Tagged profile was deactivated a day after he transferred the money.

A search on the Internet revealed that other men have also fallen victims to such women, believed to be foreigners, on Tagged.

On online forum Sammyboy, a netizen nicknamed Big2 claimed he fell prey to the Tagged scam last year.

He wrote: "She gave me two choices: Wire over money to her by the next morning through Western Union to (the) Philippines or face the wrath of the (cybersex) video being uploaded and sent to my friends."

"To save myself from the humiliation, I had no other choice and wired money to her."

When contacted, a police spokesman said members of the public are advised to be cautious when dealing with unknown persons over the Internet.

"Anyone who encounter such incidents should report the matter to the police immediately," said the spokesman.

But understandably, not many victims of such scams would be willing to come forward, especially since online solicitation is illegal in Singapore.

As Rashid explained: "Basically, I gave money on the promise of sex in return... How am I going to tell the authorities that?

"At least it's a scam, so I'm glad my wife won't find out about this."



Want to join sex club? Give card details

FANCY an entry into an "exclusive group sex club with top Asian models"?

A user on social networking site Tagged made this offer to men last week.

The New Paper understands that to sign up, all the interested applicants have to do is to hand over their credit card details to pay for a one-time joining fee.

TNP found two such offers made by users "Party Girl" and "Agnes C" on Tagged last week.

Both women, who claim to be Asians, said they are seeking members for an upcoming swingers party.

Those interested had to message the women for details. Both profile pages gave away little information about their owners.

But both feature pictures of their owners in seductive poses.

In a post on her profile page last Friday, Agnes C said: "Lets go to swinger party have fun fun fun".

When TNP, posing as a potential client, contacted Agnes C, we received a reply.

However, Agnes C declined to supply full details in the message, preferring instead to chat with this reporter via MSN.

But she stopped communication when we asked her to e-mail us the details.

Party Girl, who also replied to this reporter's queries, wrote in a message sent via Tagged: "I'm not going to send the site where you can get your member id pass... cause im just follow (sic) and respect the Tagged rules."

However, she claimed that the sex parties will be held at the Marriot hotel till March.

So far, there are no reports of anyone joining the sex parties.

Could this be a scam?

Netizens certainly think so, and some online users on popular forums like Sammyboy are cautioning potential users about revealing their credit card details to unknown sources.

One of them, going by the online nickname "goodpartner", said on the forum: "They'll say it's just a one-time small fee (eg buy the cheapest $25 package) on your credit card to see them live on video, which she claim (sic) is the only way you can see her."

But be careful because "you could be charged with amounts you cannot dispute with the banks", warned the forum user.

- The New Paper