The main issue is finding the *******. That is not going to be easy. Even if can find IP address, so what? Chances are he was online from an Internet cafe.

And about the pic, of course its not his real face la! Its probably a photo of someone he conned b4 for all you know.

The only other alternative that i can think of is hiring a private investigator. But that will be expensive liao.

And the fact that all the details and his nickname has been publicised so much, it has probably killed the slightest chance of getting him.

I myself personally never deal poslaju or courier or whatever unless i have no choice. And if I have to pay first and wait for stuff to come through the post/courier, i try to limit it RM250.00 in value. I will only go higher if I am dealing with an established reputable company or set up but will still try to check on background first.

Viking, you were already worried about being conned hence you wanted to have a test deal first at a limit of RM500. Why did you break your own rules by paying another RM200? And if you were prepared to lose RM500 knowing full well the risks, why the unusual "upsetness"? It seems to me you are more upset than you should be for a person who knew full well the risks and took it anyway.

One more thing, yes, dealing COD is no doubt the best way. But try to bring a friend along with you. If you can get a few friends to come along, even better. But if there is a group of you, ask your friends to stand or sit a short distance away while you are completing the transaction, otherwise you may end up intimidating a genuine buyer/seller who may be alone. The reason I say to bring along a friend with you is to try to prevent or discourage snatching. If there is snatching, you at least have help to try to catch the fella. At the minimum, you have witness(es) which may be helpful in a police report or identifying the culprit.

Think about the place you are going to meet up too. Meet in a very public place with lotsa pple around. IMHO, find a place where you and the other party can sit down but sit further away from the entrance. That way, not so easy for the culprit to run away if he/she ends up snatching. Be also aware of the possibility that the person may have an accomplice i.e. he/she won't do the snatching him/herself but the accomplice will. Then the other party will just say, "alamak, bad luck for you. But since kena snatch already, no deal." Later, the person and the accomplice will just sell the item snatched and split it among themselves. As a buyer, remember, your money may get snatched too. Always be aware of your surroundings and whats going on around you.

Further, if you are a woman, for goodness sake, never go deal alone for obvious risks. Bring along a guy or some guys.

Lastly, a conman may also be a conWoman. Just because the person is a girl/woman, dun think you won't get cheated. For the guys, dun get distracted if she is really beautiful or sweet looking or sexily dressed. I dun mean to sound sexist here, but its a fact of life. For the girls, just because the other person seems to be such a nice sweet girl, doesn't mean she is not a conwoman.

This post has been edited by jpaq: Jan 18 2006, 09:20 PM