"Black-hearted" conmen bid for China quake charity

By Simon Rabinovitch

BEIJING (Reuters) - People across China have opened their wallets to give earthquake aid -- and fraudsters have swung into action to capitalise on the burst of generosity.

Police issued a warning after a flurry of text messages hit mobile phones, soliciting disaster assistance in emotional appeals, only asking that funds be deposited in private accounts.

"My family was in the earthquake. Dad and mum urgently need money. Send whatever money you can. Deposit it in our friend's account," read one text in the southern province of Guangdong proven to be fake by local reporters.

Chinese web chat rooms, which have been full of sympathy and grief for the quake's victims, exploded in fury.

"Anyone who steals this kind of money will be cursed," said one person on sohu.com, a popular web portal.

Another wrote: "I'm truly speechless. Why must there always be bad guys among our people?"

Many of the comments were more aggressive, wishing the swindlers meet violent ends.

The "black-hearted text messages", to use the Shenzhen Economic Daily's phrase, stand in rare contrast to the outpouring of goodwill in China after the quake that may have killed as many as 50,000 people.  Continued...