Gazette - Seduced by the Internet

COVER SECTION

Joint police effort saves Australian scam victim

A South Australian man who fell victim to an online dating scam is lucky to be alive thanks to the quick thinking of his relatives and the rapid response and collaboration of police.

Des Gregor, 56, travelled to Mali, West Africa, on July 26, 2007, with the intention of meeting the woman he thought he would marry. Instead, Gregor became an unwitting target in a dangerous scam that could have had tragic consequences.

When Gregor arrived in Bamako, Mali, on July 27, he was greeted as planned by two African men who facilitated his arrival. After collecting his luggage, Gregor was led to another person who escorted him to a waiting vehicle.

However, rather than taking him to meet his would-be bride, the three men drove Gregor to a house where he was stripped of his clothes, threatened with a machete and held hostage for a $100,000 ransom. He was permitted to contact his family to request the ransom money under the guise that he was having credit card problems.

Immediately suspicious and concerned for his welfare, Gregor’s family contacted the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Authorities with the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the South Australia Police (SAPOL) and the Canadian Embassy in Mali began liaising with the Mali National Police to investigate the situation and bring Gregor home safely.

The AFP’s Adelaide office launched Operation Streambank, a joint police operation involving 50 AFP agents and 20 SAPOL officers. The team worked 24 hours a day for 12 days to intercept e-mails and phone calls to Gregor’s family. Aviation staff from Adelaide Airport and AFP investigators from Australian Capital Territory Policing were also involved in the investigation.

The AFP dispatched its senior liaison officer based in South Africa to Mali, where the officer worked closely with the Canadian Embassy and local authorities to secure Gregor’s release. The rescue involved convincing the kidnappers to allow Gregor to visit the Canadian Embassy in Bamako to pick up a lesser ransom sum (Australia does not have a diplomatic mission in Mali).

The kidnappers fell for the ruse. On August 8, Gregor’s captors took him to the embassy, telling him that his girlfriend and two other people — all of them fictitious — would be killed if he did not return. Once at the embassy, Gregor was greeted by the AFP liaison officer and Canadian diplomats. He was told to remain in the embassy and that he was safe. A team of over 25 Mali Police officers from Bamako provided surveillance during the operation. The three hostage-takers were not caught.

Operation Streambank was a successful example of multi-agency co-operation between local state police, national police, and Malian and Canadian authorities through the AFP’s international network.

The AFP wants this extreme example to serve as a warning to the public to protect themselves against similar types of Internet scams.

“Criminals are going online and using the Internet to target anyone they can, regardless of age or backgrounds, and people need to be aware that they could be putting their own lives at risk,” said Tim Morris, AFP Assistant Commissioner International. “This was a lucky person. While it was a distressing ordeal for him at the time, he survived as a result of the AFP responding to this incident and working co-operatively at a multilateral level.”

Federal agent Kevin Zuccato, director of the Australian High Tech Crime Centre, appeared on a national radio show to reinforce the message that scammers will continue to prey on people and trick them into sending money or gifts — or worse, lure them to another country.

“People like Des (Gregor) are seduced by the Internet where websites and conversations appear very realistic. You need to use the same common sense that you apply in the real world on the Internet,” said Zuccato.

With files from Platypus magazine and the AFP.