Thursday, 17 January 2008

Woman charged over internet scam

January 17, 2008

POLICE have issued a warning against online scams after charging a 54-year-old Brisbane woman with receiving and forwarding stolen property.

Detective Superintendent Brian Hay, from the Queensland Police Service Computer Crimes Investigation Unit, said the woman allegedly asked to have stolen goods delivered to her home at Sunnybank, in Brisbane's south, before forwarding them to Cambodia.

The woman was believed to have become involved in an internet relationship with a man in Cambodia whom she met on a dating website.

Det Supt Hay said overseas-based criminals could spend months engaging people online to cultivate their trust before asking them to send money or goods.

People who receive stolen or illegally obtained property and send it overseas would be prosecuted and internet users should be alert to possible scammers, he said.

"Requests to send money or property overseas should be treated with extreme caution,'' Det Supt Hay said.

"If you suspect you or someone you know may be undertaking similar acts, seek independent advice and contact the fraud and corporate crime group.''

The woman has been charged with two counts of receiving stolen property and is due to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on February 12.

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