Computer geeks log in as conmen

BANGALORE: Watch out! Computer-age crooks don the guise of trade fair organisers, lottery operators and spam mailers. And the Internet is frequently the route they are taking.
Over the last two months, at least three business persons in Bangalore have been duped of nearly Rs 3 lakh each by a company claiming to organise an international trade fair.
The company, Windermere Illustrative Trade Fairs Pvt Ltd, advertised in newspapers and on the Internet, since December 2003, for an ''Experience India Paris Show'' to showcase Indian jewellery, textiles and leather goods, between April 28 and 30.
But, the promoters have disappeared after collecting participation and travel fee cheques from small and medium businesses across the country.
Those duped have not received any intimation so far, and have discovered that the organisers have shut their Gurgaon office and disappeared with the money they deposited in two bank accounts.
A complaint lodged with the Sanjaynagar police has been forwarded to Gurgaon, where several other people are said to have been similarly cheated.
"Access to a trade fair in Paris at such a low cost was too good to resist. We checked their website and travel agency and packers they claimed to have tied up with — the fair seemed genuine," says Paresh Mehta, a dealer in ceramic hand-painted tableware, who registered with a partner.
Enquiries with travel agents revealed that Windermere had initially approached them, but pulled out in mid-March.
The promoters, Ajay Bhatia and Rajesh Grover (believed to be fake names), have been declared absconding by the police.
Windermere still has an Internet presence, and claims to be organising another ''Experience India'' event in Chicago in September this year.
Additional commissioner of police (crime) Alok Mohan says the complaint is a first of its kind. "People usually see through these things," he says.
Meanwhile, many Internet users report receiving mails announcing they have been randomly chosen to receive a million-dollar Internet lottery.
An MNC executive contacted an Amsterdam telephone number provided with the mail and learnt that he had to remit 700 euros through a Dubai account to receive the prize.
The Nigeria money-laundering type of e-mails — around since the 1980s — continue to land up, and are now supposedly coming from Sierra Leone, Taiwan and Central Africa.
The scam involves a great deal of money stashed away in a foreign bank, which needs to be transferred. The recipient''s bank account is solicited under this pretext.
Self-appointed organisation, Fraudwatch International (www.fraudwatchinternational.com), warns: "By providing bank account numbers or credit card numbers, you would be increasing your risk of becoming a victim of identity theft or credit card fraud."