Modus operandi of swindling

Modus operandi of swindling

From Media Indonesia

A colleague of mine has been cheated by a man with a typically
Middle Eastern face claiming to be called Nadjib Baktir (about
50). He got to know my colleague from the latter's advertisement
in a Jakarta-based newspaper about the selling of his 50-hectare
piece of land in Bogor.

Purporting to be the proxy of an Australian under the name of
Mr. Pieter, who was interested in purchasing the land, Nadjib
came to see me to discuss the price offer set by Mr. Pieter.
After an agreement was reached on the price of the land and the
time schedule for the installments and following Nadjib's enquiry
about evidence of land ownership, he agreed to arrange a meeting
between my colleague and Mr. Pieter.

At an agreed time, he contacted my colleague and took him to
see Mr. Pieter in Bali, saying that part of the payment for the
land would be made there. He also offered his services to find
accommodation in Bali under quite a cheap package offer (a return
ticket and hotel accommodation). My colleague agreed and gave the
money for four people. In return, Nadjib showed my colleagues
evidence of the flight schedule and hotel booking.

On the day arranged for the departure, Nadjib failed to turn
up. When my colleague checked this matter at the airport, he
found something strange. His name was not included on the list of
passengers for the destination and the flight mentioned on the
booking evidence.

After some investigation, it was found that Nadjib had cheated
some other people using the same modus operandi. Among others, he
said that he could help find accommodation in Australia in
addition to handling the visa and the passport because, as he
claimed, his wife worked at the Australian immigration ministry.

So, I hope this letter has made readers more aware of this
modus operandi.

H. RADYA BAHAR

Jakarta