Man falls for 'black paper' scam

Beijing police warned foreigners to be on the lookout for fraud yesterday after a South Korean man fell for a scheme in which two men claiming to be African officials said they could turn black paper into US bank notes with a special liquor.

The man, surnamed Choi, was cheated out of 1 million yuan ($143,000) earlier this month, the Beijing Public Security Bureau Exit-Entry Administration Department said.

Choi said he received an email in January from a man who claimed he was a high-ranking bank officer in Africa and could transfer a $29 million unclaimed inheritance to Choi, who only needed to pay commission charges and a fee to buy a special liquor which could turn black paper into US bank notes.