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