THE e-mail message was worded like any other love letter, laced with sweet nothings and flattery.

But it came with a sob story asking the recipient for financial help.

Another Nigerian scam, you say?

Then, you open up the attachments: Two pictures of a voluptuous African woman in a bikini by the name of Mary Anna, who is allegedly the writer of the note.

Lured by the svelte figure in the photos, male recipients may decide to follow through with a response.

'Mary' would then send romantic and flirtatious messages, even calling them 'my partner' and 'my sweet'.

And once she has the respondent hooked, Mary would work on the person's sympathy, by asking him to send some money to 'save' her from a refugee camp in Africa.

This is the latest twist to the infamous Nigerian scams.

From January to early Dec this year, there have been 29 reported cases involving Nigerian scams, where 19 victims lost a total of $822,191. One of them was conned to part with $337,875, police figures showed.

Last year, there were 24 such cases, with 12 victims losing a total of $676,417.

While scammers previously posed as government officials asking for help to launder millions of dollars in illegally obtained funds, they have now switched to using pictures of scantily-clad women to target lonely men.

Using such so-called romance scams, the con artists would go all out to win your affection and then use the goodwill to get your money.

According to reports, the cheats also prey on the lonely at dating sites.

INCREDULOUS TALE

For over a week, The New Paper on Sunday corresponded with 'Mary' via her yahoo e-mail account. She claimed to be a 26-year-old 'heiress' who was born in Liberia, west of Africa.

She added that her late father, Dr Godwill David, was a personal advisor to Liberia's former president, Mr Charles Taylor.

Apparently, Mr David also owned companies in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia.

The 'heiress' claimed that she is now residing in a United Nations (UN) refugee camp in Dakar Senegal, as a result of a civil war in Liberia, where both her parents were killed by rebels.

While it is true that Mr Taylor was Liberia's former president who ruled the state between 1997 and 2003, it could not be established if Dr David was indeed his personal advisor.

But an online check on Dr David's company, 2 Industrial in Monrovia, drew a blank.

Mary claimed her father left her US$6.5 million ($9.3m), but she would entice victims to wire 300 Euros to her first because she allegedly couldn't get to the money due to her refugee status.

She even has a 'bank officer' from a well-known bank in London by the name of Leed Hanson to facilitate the transfer.

When contacted by The New Paper on Sunday, a man who said he was Mr Hanson claimed he was the bank's transfer officer. But he sounded confused about whether the money was intended for Mary, Fatu or Kate.

Without giving any details, he asked for 1,000 Euros to be transferred within two days before he hung up hastily.

Mary is apparently not alone in such scams.

Other similar scams which surfaced in online forums also showed love letters - worded in the same manner - with pictures of African models, luring victims to part with their money.

The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) in Singapore has not received any reports on such scams, but a police spokesman warned: 'Nigerian scams involve a number of schemes, all designed to dupe victims into parting with their money. The public should be wary of these get-rich offers that promise high returns.

'Anyone who receive such letters or e-mails should not reply. They can send the letters or e-mail to the CAD.'