Policemen from Warsaw have detained an internet shop owner who conned over 100 people.
47-year-old Artur L., a translator and computer graphic designer from Warsaw, wheedled over 400,000 zloty (97,000 euro) out of internet users in only several months. Police found falsified documents, credit cards and equipment used for committing internet frauds in his house.
In December 2008, Artur L. set up an internet shop which offered cheap home electronics and kitchen appliances. The shop seemed reliable because the owner published big ads in daily newspapers. People interested in buying goods had to transfer money to a given bank account. However, they never received the chosen items and some of the cheated clients reported the fraud to the police.
Police established that the conman also tried to wheedle money out of Allegro users, a popular online auction site, offering cheap mobile phones, books, electronics and cars. He set up several accounts on Allegro and placed positive commentaries about himself on them. (mg/mmj)