Fake Opal Plot Cons Tourists (2 Articles)
Opal plot a load of bull - 5 June 2002 MX (Australia)
A number of German tourists have turned up in a South Australian town thinking they have rights to an opal mine. They'd been conned into thinking they'd bought shares in an opal mine in Coober Pedy over the Internet.
A number of people have arrived with a certificate for the Bull and Bear Opal Mine, and asked police and locals for directions. The certificate states holders own one square metre after paying the equivalent of $125.Coober Pedy mayor Eric Malliotis says the scam isn't good for the town's reputation. "It's a different thing if you buy shares in a mining venture that you get a certain percentage, but not square metres of area," he said.
Opal con leaves tourists holding a load of bull
By Thea Williams. 4 June 2002 - The Australia.
FOR the sum total of 69.94 euros ($115.15), German tricksters are offering one square metre of an opal mine in "Cooper Pedy".
And sure enough, several German tourists have arrived in outback South Australia, certificate in hand, wondering where to peg their claim in the real Coober Pedy. "Too many suckers are born every second," local mayor Eric Malliotis said yesterday. "It's a con job."
The Germans have "bought" the rights to the so-called Bull and Bear Opal Mine for 69.94 (extra if they want the certificate framed) on the strength of magazine advertisements and internet sites carrying "photos" of the site. Licences to mine in the area have trebled in the past two years, the advertisements claim.
"The mines at Cooper Pedy are like a magnet attracting people, now you, too, can buy a licence to dig for 10 years." The 69.94 buys the gullible investor the certificate, a photo of the mine, a map, travel tips and a travel guide to Australia and "Cooper Pedy". Two German tourists on separate occasions have appeared at the local police station to complain: "Where is our opal mine?" "I guess they're hoping no one will travel to these destinations," detective Frank Pargh said. "I believe you can also buy parts of a goldmine in Alaska.
"We've been through the website, it's set up as a novelty and when you read the fine print it says it's a joke only. "Someone even brought in their certificate and it said at the bottom it was a joke. There's one born every day."
But as far as police were concerned, there was nothing they could do for gullibility. Yanni Athanasiadis from the Umoona Opal Mine and Museum in town had one German tourist last year who arrived with his Bull and Bear prospectus, with glossy colour pictures.
Germans were the most likely target for a scam, because they represented the largest number of overseas tourists to opal fields in central Australia, he said. But simple research would confirm a permit to mine cost about $40 to $50. "Why should you buy one square metre from someone? How do you know opal is there? It doesn't pay, it's not feasible," Mr Athanasiadis said.
The scam wasn't good for business, Mr Malliotis said. "It's a con job. You can sell shares in the proceeds of a find of opal if you are there with the miner," he said. "A smart person has thought they can make money from idiots.
"It's a lot of nonsense. "It's a concern when we see things like that because it doesn't do any good."