Taiwanese Man Shells Out $400,000 for a Croissant He Never Got
People often spend outlandish sums of money for fine foods. But about $3.50 for a fancy croissant doesn’t sound too bad, does it? What about $400,000?
Such is the sad story of a man named Chiu. Seeing an advertisement for “French bread which is so delicious it will make you cry,” Chiu dropped 99 Taiwan bills, or about $3.50, and eagerly awaited his tasty pastry. Sadly, it never came. But a phone call did.
The company apparently called him, saying the transaction didn’t go through and it must be repeated. Chiu obliged. Then he then received a call from a man who identified himself as a bank manager saying that he must repeat the transaction once again.
Then he got another call from someone claiming to be a representative from the “Monetary Supervision Commission,” threatening him with an accusation of money laundering.
When all was said and done, Chiu was out 12 million Taiwan dollars. And one croissant. Sadly, despite the efforts of police, Internet and phone scams are common in Taiwan, with thousands of innocent yet most likely foolish individuals being suckered every year.
(Link)
By Lycurgus on 12-07-2011
