Conmen Come In Many Forms

The sheer genius of some con men would have been greatly appreciated if only the damage that they do with their wrongly wired brilliant minds didn't cause so much heartache and misery. These masters of the confidence game misuse their talents while fully taking advantage of the gullibility of the victim/s. Here is the story of one such confidence trickster who got away with half-a-million bucks.

A senior citizen claiming to be a millionaire owning several properties overseas has conned his 25 “adopted children” of over half a million ringgit.

The man, known as “Ayah Haji,” had told his victims – many of whom are professionals – that the money was for payment of processing fees to enable the transfer of his properties to them.

A Harian Metro report said the man, from Alor Star, would sweet talk them into agreeing to be his “adopted children” by promising that they would inherit RM2mil and an 81ha farm in Johor, as well as a bungalow and a luxury car.

To further convince them, he would even produce a proposal for a RM4.7bil Bandar Eksport Mersing project, to be sited on a 2,832ha piece of land in Johor purportedly belonging to him.

According to Badruddin Md Noh, 46, he had given a total of RM13,000 over the last five months to his “adoptive father” so that a piece of land in Jemaluang, Johor, could be transferred to him.

“As far as I know, 25 people have fallen victim to this man,” he said.

****** As long as there are foolish people out there willing to believe in 'striking it rich' the easy way, like being adopted by a 'fabulously rich' old Haji doling out property and cash in the millions, con men will be active and thriving. Are we Malaysians that naive or stupid to be taken in so easily? We have heard of Nigerian scam-merchants who have ripped off so-called 'educated' persons and elderly women with some wealth who have been taken for a ride by those who prey on their fears of ill-health and sometimes even their greed for money in their twilight years. Will we ever learn?
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