Crime Prevention Advisory on Cyber Extortion

From Singapore Police Force facebook page:

Police have received several reports on cyber extortion recently.

These cases usually involve female suspects who attempt to extort money by threatening to post compromising photos or videos of victims, mostly males, following an online cyber-sex session over a web camera. The victims are coaxed into undressing and performing indecent acts in front of a webcam. The process is video recorded and the males are blackmailed thereafter. In most cases, the female suspects are believed to be based overseas.

The female suspects would usually get acquainted with the male victims via social networking websites like Tagged.com, Skype or Facebook. The public is advised to take the following preventive measures when interacting online:

i) Be wary of messages from unknown people who want to befriend you.

ii) Do not accede to any request that may put you in vulnerable positions, such as performing compromising acts in front of the webcam, or giving personal details about yourself when interacting with other internet users.

iii) If anyone attempts to extort money from you or should you become a victim of such an attempt, call the police immediately.

iv) Do not remit or transfer money.

For more information and advisory on cyber extortion, please view Crimewatch 2013 Episode 4 @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrapCuor4rQ

Joey's Fake Tagged Profile - Alice T

http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5977415234

This is Joey's fake Tagged profile under the name of "Alice T". She doesn't have any Tagged profile at this point of time.

This profile is likely created for playing of the Pets game.

If you have anymore detail or interaction with this fake profile, do update us.

Irene Tan's Tagged Fake Profile

Here we go again - yet another fake Tagged profile using our Singapore girl's photos. Will these scammers realise that when they use local girls' photos to add local people, their scam will be exposed soon?

Fang L

Profile URL: http://www.tagged.com/fanglfang

Last Active: 18 hours ago

Profile Views: 1484 times

Profile Skin: boom

Tagline: i'm not a perfect person, i make a lot of mistake but i still love those people who stay with me after knowing how i really am

Member Since: June 1, 2013

Gender: Female

Location: singapore, Singapore

Age: 25

Relationship Status: Single

Interested In: Friends, Dating, Serious Relationship, Networking

Ethnicity: Asian

Religion: Christian

Orientation: Straight

About Me

Music:

stand up for cancer... i dedicate it to my love ones...

Movies:

romeo and juliet :)I'm a HUGE fan of horror flicks, though most of the ones out there these days aren't that great.I absolutely LOVE werewolf movies-cept the gingersnaps series..

TV:

Family Guy, Deadliest Warrior, M*A*S*H, American Dad, LA Ink, a few things on TruTV, anything on the military channel, Ghost In The Shell: SAC, CSI Miami, Future Weapons, Dogfights, Deadliest Catch (yes i like it), Monster Quest and others

Books:

Santini by Pat Conroy, Moon Called by Patricia Briggs, The Dark Elf Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore, and Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy. My favorite authors are: Patricia Briggs, Laurell K Hamilton, Tom Clancy, PAt Conroy, Irvine Welsh, JRR Tolkien, Terry Brooks, Alice Borchardt, Kelley Armstrong, RA Salvatore, Lian Hearn, and others..I've recently been introduced to the Twilight series..and YES I like them so far..If people dont like them or the movie..well I do and you can keep your opinions to yourself..I respect yours if you respect mine....

Sports:

swimming, bowling,

Interests:

Any new people. i am looking for some one who isn't afraid to spend time with me. some one who wants to keep me well taken care of. A man who will leave me thinking of him when he is not with me

Dreams:

to make my love ones happy and in good health

Best Features:

I've got nice EYES for one thing I guess. At least that's what I've been told. I think one of my best features that's not physical is my loyalty. I'm very loyal to my friends. I will not turn my back on someone. Once you're my friend, you've got someone there for ya through thick and thin....

About Me:

Well.. I am a very out going person! I am who I am, and nothing else! I absolutely can NOT stand 'Fake' people!-what so ever! I am a very caring person, that loves to be with my family, and my friends! I have a great personality as well!

Perhaps, the only smart thing about this faker is that he/she has a decent profile write-up. He/She does not seem to be buying "pets" and thus is unlikely to be using the profile to play the PETS game. The profile is also set to "private" while most fake profiles are "public". We have no idea what this scammer is trying to do.

Despite the fake account is only around 12-day-old, the real owner of the photos, Irene Tan, has already encountered "hi" from three or four strangers on the street.

Kind souls, please report and block this fake account.

Fake Social Media Profiles

We have no idea what these scammers are up to but in case you have them inside your friend list, do remove and block them. Perhaps, if you are free, you can talk to them and printscreen for us to joke about.


Imposter of Vanessa
https://www.facebook.com/huimin.lee.716

Imposter of Isabella aka Bella Choi
https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.huang.31105

Imposter of Michelle Tan
http://www.tagged.com/axandrawongli
https://www.facebook.com/alexandra.wong.98892

Singapore Model Kayla Wong Impersonate Scam

Our own Singapore models have their shares of worries for impersonate issues. Young model like Kayla Wong has also been targeted by scammer who probably agrees that she has a very appealing looks. We mean scammers do not only rip Taiwan or Hong Kong girls' photos.

As usual, Tagged.com (merged with hi5.com) has allowed all scams to be made easy.



http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5989722970

Kayla knows nothing about Tagged.com nor its existence.

We are not sure of the intention (likely just for the dumb pets game) of the fake profile. However, we do know it's difficult to get these clones removed. The "report abuse" link on the profile is probably workable for the FBI.

After submitting a report, you will get the same template reply:

We will need the original owner of the pictures to contact us in order to confirm their identity. Please be aware that we can only take action if the stolen photo is of the actual person.

If you are in contact with the original owner of these photos, please forward them this message:

In order for us to take action against the user who has stolen your photos, we'll need you to contact us directly from the email address registered to your Tagged account. Please submit your report as follows and follow these verification steps:

1) Take a new photo of yourself.
2) In the photo, you must hold up a piece of paper with the current date and time written on it.
3) Attach the photo to your New support request sent via the contact us link on our Help page.
4) In your reply, please provide the link (URL) to the user's profile who has stolen your photos.

To send a link to another user's profile, please do the following:

-Click on the member's Profile Picture. In the Browser Address Bar, you will see the Link to that profile. It will look like this:

http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=********** ("****" represents a number)

We are not sure how well it will work but we have heard of users having problems replying to the email with attachment of their photos while following the instructions above. Anyway, it's just stupid to follow the steps.

Just a random sideline: Tagged doesn't even have a "remove friend" link on individual profiles so that we can easily remove fake profiles after adding and realising they are hoax.

We predict Tagged.com will eventually be shut down due to the large influx of fake accounts since they have no better way to stop them. With real users abandoning the social media website, how long can it last?

We do love the website for its ease of use and making friends, but seriously, can their team do a better job?

Some Fake Tagged Profiles

In the past few months, the number of fake profiles who have posted status in Tagged.com has probably exceeded the number of real ones. However, we have observed some people exposing them directly or indirectly by commenting on the statuses. Sometimes, it's simply humorous.

Anyway, excluding those very obvious scammers who are using foreigners' photos in their fake profiles, we have found some profiles that are using real Singapore girls' photos.

Real owner of photos: Maybeline
http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5986731523

Real owner of photos: Unknown
http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5981398712

Real owner of photos: Bella Choi
http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5980965870

Real owner of photos: Jamie Ang
http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5987371041

Real owner of photos: Kelly Chin
http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5984120713

Do help us to report on their profiles - we know Tagged has made it quite tough to report though.

Online Friendship Scam - Sexual Weblink

Following the exposing of Miyo Minako scammer, we have also discovered another similar "horny" girl by the name of "Chi Chi Yamaguchi".

Chi Chi Yamaguchi started off in Tagged.com as well and sent message to invite her new friends to her Facebook account. She was less aggressive than Miyo Minako though as she did not spam sexual Facebook statuses daily to advertise for her "free service". Another difference between both of them is that there is a higher chance that Chi Chi Yamaguchi is using her real photos and videos in her Facebook profile - at least she is not posting a girl's photo in Singapore school's uniform.

Her Tagged.com profile http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5463761189 is longer available and unfortunately, we did not take any screenshot of it before that. It is likely that she can or has already set up a new Tagged account though. Tagged.com is probably still keeping the profile in their database but they will not entertain anyone who would like to have a quick peep at it.

We had some interactions with her but we were rather tired of that since we already knew she was up to no good in the first place. She was simply trying to get guys to go to her "web link" to see "free show".

Here are the printscreens from Facebook Messages:

And in case you cannot see the texts in the pictures properly, you can read the conversation below:

March 2

Chi Chi Yamaguchi
Hello

Scams-Singapore
hi

Chi Chi Yamaguchi
sO what r u doing now my new friend?

Scams-Singapore
nothing much. you?

Chi Chi Yamaguchi
here just lying on my bed
done watching pornsite
:0

Scams-Singapore
i see
okay

Chi Chi Yamaguchi
?
sO
are u alone there?

Scams-Singapore
yes

Chi Chi Yamaguchi
Mmmm good
single?

Scams-Singapore
yes
why?
anyway, i'm going off. see you.

Chi Chi Yamaguchi
ok
takecare



March 2 (later...)

Chi Chi Yamaguchi
Hello ^^ How's ur day?

Scams-Singapore
good. you?

Chi Chi Yamaguchi
a liilttle bit tired for now .. after all cleaningmy closet,bed,etc..... im aLmost DONE NOW,,;;
and wer r u ryt now

Scams-Singapore
home



March 17

Chi Chi Yamaguchi
Hello there dear, [:)] are u busy

Scams-Singapore
hi. yes. what's up?

Chi Chi Yamaguchi
what u doing ?

Scams-Singapore
doing some work
you?

Chi Chi Yamaguchi
just listening music and chatting w. my new friends, in my weblink [:)]

Scams-Singapore
i see

Chi Chi Yamaguchi
wanna join me

Scams-Singapore
for?

Chi Chi Yamaguchi
some fun?

Scams-Singapore
??

Chi Chi Yamaguchi
Hello there [:)] not sleeping yet

Scams-Singapore
no. you?

Chi Chi Yamaguchi
so what u doing rite now

Scams-Singapore
work
you?

Chi Chi Yamaguchi
working?where

Scams-Singapore
home

Chi Chi Yamaguchi
what u doing like? what

Scams-Singapore
cheating money

Chi Chi Yamaguchi
?


You can no longer message Chi Chi Yamaguchi. Learn more.

We did not expect her to block us in the end. She was probably wondering why a guy did not initial any conversation with her at all and when she started the chats, the guy stayed "cold" and was not allured by her declaration of "being horny". And of course "cheating money" was actually describing her when we were intending to confront her.

Why would she want to people to view her web link?
The person has to register an account on the website that requires his credit card details, which he will be promised that no amount will be deducted. She will either be able to access the credit card details directly or be given a referral commission. In neither way, she is not genuine in making friends with you.

As usual, our advice is that there is no free lunch in this world. There is a lower percentage for hot girls to give you any free show on the internet. If you are going for any free bite, be prepared to be bitten by them on your wallet. Even if you are better looking than Tom Cruise or Jay Chou, there is a high chance for you to be cheated over the net. Obviously, if a girl wants to have "fun" with you, she would have done it over MSN or Skype video call.

If you are going for genuine online friendship, do not expect the girl to start arousing your lust at the beginning of the conversation; open-minded girls do exist but most of them would restrain themselves.

If you are single, go and get a real girlfriend instead!

Scam Alert: Tagged Fake Profiles

Below are some Tagged profiles that are using non-Singaporeans' photos but they all claim that they are staying in Singapore.

http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5453614060

http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5412891925

http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5410374143

We are not sure of their motives but they do not seem to be very active in Tagged anymore.

Do take note of them if you have them added as friends in Tagged.com or Hi5.com.

Tagged & Facebook Credit Card Scam Alert - Miyo Minako

Tagged has always been known as a social networking site that scammers favour, due to various reasons (We will write an article to summarize it in future when time allows). There is recently a new trend to combine the use of Tagged and Facebook to create a fake impression to others that the fake accounts are real.

Scammers use Tagged to recruit more friends while inviting the victims-to-be to their fake Facebook accounts.


"Miyo Minako"
http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5460797136

Tagline: hello im miyo minako u can also add me on my facebook so we can chat me there miyo minako or miyo minako@yahoo.com thanks actually i dont have msn

One of her Statuses: "Goodnight GUys... and sweet,wet dreams... just add me in fb same name thanks.."

This is the Tagged account of the "sweet-looking" girl who claims to be living in Singapore. Most Singapore residents would have used MSN. Most normal sweet and hot looking girls would not resort to dirty chats online, mentioning words like "wet dreams".


https://www.facebook.com/miyominako (changed url)


Let us explore her Facebook account.

"u want to see me and watch me while naked again get my weblink now if u want
im horny and wet now"

She has been typing similar statuses in Facebook, telling people that she is horny and asking them to get her "weblink" from her. If she is serious about giving people her "weblink" for free, why not just post the link in her status?

For those who are not aware of her messages still, she is simply a "cam girl". There are many websites in the internet that employ girls to show her bodies and follow the exact commands of horny visitors who are willing to pay. This "Miyo Minako" seems exactly like one, but with a deeper plot.

She is pretty neat for she (or he?) always makes sure she deletes the previous status before posting a new one.

She has uploaded a few albums, which makes the account more "real" than other fake profiles you can see in Facebook. One of the pictures shows that "she" is from ITE. We are not able to confirm if the photos are stolen, though it is highly possible. Anyway, this scammer has made quite a lot of effort in maintaining the Facebook profile, and has even switched to Facebook Timeline by "herself".

As we scrolling down her Facebook page, we can see that there are a few people who have posted on her Facebook wall - just a few pathetic ones though.


Lee Zhen

"hey baby can i have your link now so that i can see you again im horny baby i want to cum now.btw my card not charged thanks for telling me the truth make me happy again"






Let us explore his profile.

Judging from the photo, "he" looks more like a China man than a Singaporean. Anyway, he has only a friend - Miyo Minako.

Is he a loser or has he created the profile specially for her?

If he is just a normal pervert out in the net, he would have added many other hot girls in Facebook.










Next, we have "Weng Yan"

"hi babe im already online now can i have your link again i want to have fun now with you i want to see your hot body again babe plss send me the link again babe im not scared bcoz im not charged plss let have fun im horny babe"

Our wonderful fan of Miyo Minoko sounds similar to other fans of hers "Lee Zhen", who types without commas, full-stops, and sounds equally desperate in the exact same tune.

However, do not forget about the most important message "im not scared bcoz im not charged".


Weng Yan's profile.


Similar to Lee Zhen, Weng Yan is a loner and loser.

Needless to say, this is a fake account specially created to let Miko Minako's "fans" think that the credit card information given is safe.










Lastly, we have "Shin T Akatzki".

"hi babe thanks for the last night
can u give me your weblink again im horny now thanks for telling the truth
i go to my bank card and im not charge thanks can we have fun again now babe"

This is actually the first "Facebook user" who has posted on Miyo Minako's Facebook wall.

The difference between him and the other two "fans" is that he has separated his messages into sentences instead of simply typing straight like machine gun.

Similarly, his tune is the same and he has mentioned about "bank card not charged".


Exploring Shin T Akatzki's profile.

He has more friends than the other two - pathetic 102 though.

We strongly believe that this is the first "supporting profile" created to tell "fans" of Mino Minako to approach her to ask her for her weblink and give her their credit card information.

Thereafter, the scammer or the group of scammers who has staged this scam is simply too lazy to work on the other two profiles - to add friends or provide a bit more fake information.




Pardon us for being too "kia si" (scare to die) and not trying out her weblink. But we can assure you that after entering the weblink, you will be prompted to register an account and you have to provide your credit card information.

There are two ways for the scammer to make money, which we cannot confirm.

1. The weblink is a real cam-girls website, which the girls will strip virtually for you and do your commands. The scammer will earn commission from the web owner for making you sign up. He/she may be paid by per sign-up or a percentage of credits the victim (you?) purchases, or both.

2. Entering your credit card detail is an immediate scam. The scammer can use your information to purchase items online immediately.

Who knows... by visiting the URL she gives you, your computer or Facebook account will be hacked?

Maybe, there are more methods for the scammer to make money out of your credit card information. No matter what, you are at a loss for being fooled, thinking that you have made a real hot friend.

Let us look at two conversations with her.

December 20, 2011 

Miyo Minako
hey 

(A babe initiating chat with you? Excited?)

Someone
hi 

Miyo Minako
how are u 

Someone
not bad
you? 

Miyo Minako
im fine but a lil bit horny and bored..  

(A babe tells you directly that she's horny?! Money is dropping from heaven...)

Someone
oh 

Miyo Minako
why? 

Someone
where are you working at? 

Miyo Minako
jurong point\  

(Sounds like she knows Singapore. Initially, her profile shows something like "sales girl")

Someone
i see
you sound weird 

Miyo Minako
what u doin now 

Someone
work
you? 

Miyo Minako
nothing im alone and also bored in my room just chill and a kinda horny a lil bit..  

(Again? Need to be so direct?)

Someone
what are you going to do? 

Miyo Minako
so do u wanna try to see me tonight?  

(Even more direct, sounds like Geylang)

Someone
i think we stay quite far away

(She gives up... on a guy "without sex drive")

January 7 

Miyo Minako
hi  

(Babe messaging you again? In lady's luck?)

Someone
hi 

Miyo Minako
how are u 

Someone
good 

Miyo Minako
same here 

Someone
great 

Miyo Minako
what u doin now? 

Someone
working? or probably taking a break
how about you? 

Miyo Minako
nothing much just lying in my bed a lil bit bored alone at home.. chat with u  

(A little hint again...)

Someone
lol
bored?
sure a not?
i thought you always chat with many guys
which country are you from? 

Miyo Minako
sure...
korea my original place 

Someone
what do you work as? 

Miyo Minako
nothing  

(I thought you are working at Jurong Point?)

Someone
studying? 

Miyo Minako
nope 

Someone
wow
then doing what? 

Miyo Minako
working .. just read my wall status to know..  

(She means her "weblink" stuff)

Someone
oh.. 

Miyo Minako
why? 

Someone
how old are you? 

Miyo Minako
im 19 

Someone
19 and working as cam girl in singapore? 

Miyo Minako
just part time but no need money in cam girl 

Someone
no need money? 

Miyo Minako
yes 

Someone
how come?
you work for free? 

Miyo Minako
yup  

(Working in sexual industrial for free? YES, I "BELIEVE".)

Someone
lol. why would anyone want to work for free? 

Miyo Minako
yes 

Someone
reason? 

Miyo Minako
why u are alot of question? 

Someone
lol. nothing 

(She gives up again ever after)

She has recently changed her name to "Natalia Miyo Minako", adding the "Natalia" in front.

14th February 2013: We realise her Facebook URL has been changed to https://www.facebook.com/taliammk even though Facebook does not allow changing of the username.

Tagged Scammer Lawrence Tan Failed

The tagged scammer's account, which we have reported last year, has finally been removed by Tagged on around 9th January 2012.

Initially, the owner of the photo stolen by this scammer had tried to email Tagged as indicated in their website. After the first respond of Tagged to ask for a recent photo of the owner/victim, all emails sent to them were "bounded" back. There was totally no way to contact the staffs for assistance as they did not even have a "contact us" form.

This Lawrence Tan scammer eventually strike using the mobile phone chat feature of Tagged to try to hook up with the victim's friend (he obviously didn't know their relationship) and she managed to make him divulge his MSN email (lawrencex789@gmail.com), and thus pawning himself.

He could have been considering to abandon that email address ever since...

Anyway, if you were to google for the email lawrencex789@gmail.com, you can probably find him being involved in an adult forum, which is mainly in Chinese language. A brief investigation of the website shows that it displays photos and contact numbers of China women who come over to Singapore to make extra money.

You can probably guess what Lawrence has been up to all these years.

Before Lawrence Tan's Tagged account was removed, probably with the aid of the victim's friends who had helped to report him, he had uploaded and changed his default photo to a picture of a dance floor. He had removed another victim's photo from his profile but still keeping the latter one.

Girls, please be aware of the people you make friends with through the internet. If they were to add you up in MSN or other messengers such as Yahoo or Skype, make sure they have webcam to prove that the photos in their social network profiles really belong to them.

Please do not be fooled by guys with big belly, sitting in front of their computers and getting satisfied by online teasing or whatever.

Meet the Scammer in Tagged.com

You have a MEET ME REQUEST.

There, a hot girl picture waiting for you.

"Hihi guy want to doggie with me sms me or call +60xxxxxxxxx i open my hp 24hr everday lor..."

Yes, you are looking at the profile of someone with many hot photos.


Are you so lucky that a hot girl is interested in you?

She's horny and she needs a man now.


WAKE UP.


Most hot girls will not be free to go online.

Most hot girls will be crowded with guys and need not advertise for sex online.


This scam profile is either a sabotage or owned by an escort company in Malaysia.

Online Scam for Money - Tagged.com

One of the latest scams in Tagged.com is quite obvious and direct.

Fake accounts are created to ask for money.

"Anyone can transfer me money now? As a friend without any conditions. Haha :p"

One account alone is enough to arouse suspicious, let alone two with the same posting.

Tagged is a social networking website full of scammers.

Unusual Tagged Scam - Social Network Site Scam

With the emerging of social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Tagged, we get to experience more scams than ever.

Many people have created fake social profiles for many reasons. Some people are addicted to the sites' games and need the extra boost from another account, while some are purely for marketing purpose. Many foreign ladies who are working as cam girls or social escorts have made their presence more than ever in the social networking sites, which is safer than getting clients at Geylang physically. There are also scams that con male users to sign up at certain cam sites, which require their credit cards information.

Details of all these scams and how to identify them will be given in future blog posts.

In this post, we will share with you an unusual scam incident...

While most of the scam targets are male users of the social networking sites, photos of female users and hot celebrities are often being stolen and uploaded into the bogus user accounts. By pretending as hot girls, male users are likely to add or accept them as friends, and thus increasing the prey list.

However, this time, we have received a complaint about a scammer stealing picture of a male user in Tagged.

This scammer has uploaded 2 photos. The first photo is http://i7.tagstat.com/image06/0/5602/0008054s5o2.jpg, which seems to be stolen from Facebook from https://fbcdn-photos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/32097_398059863710_589113710_3979120_8259239_n.jpg and the scammer is too lazy to rename the caption, which shows the filename by default, so that we are able to find the original photo. However, we are unable to do reverse search for the Facebook profile of the original photo for further investigation.

This is the print-screen of the fake profile.

The Tagline "young and curious :)" would relate to perverts, who are hinting at girls that they are curious about sexual stuffs.

It seems that the scammer has registered the fake account since more than a year ago, but his Profile Views is sadly standing at only 704 times after being reported and friends of the victim has visited it.

This is probably the reason why the scammer has to steal another photo and use it to attract more girls.

The scammer's friends list currently has 80 friends, of which, more than 90% are female. Through his sexy Tagline, it is highly possible that the account is created to target female users who are open-minded and want to "try out" young guys who are curious about sex.

He has tried to get females to add him in MSN using the email lawrencex789@gmail.com.

We urge female users of social networking sites to beware of fakers. It is absolutely nothing wrong to make friends online and even date with your net friends, but we hope you will not end up meeting some old and fat guys who have shown you some hunks' photos.

We would also like to urge users to try to put watermark on their photos before uploading to their social profiles. It will reduce the chance of being stolen. Even if the scammers were to edit the photos to remove the watermarks, the photo size and quality will be affected, and thus it is easier for you to complain to the staffs of the social network sites to prove the ownership of the original photo.