Daniel O'Keeffe's family and girlfriend made heartfelt pleas for him to come home after he was last seen at a Highton bus stop on Friday morning.

The 24-year-old, who had not taken his medication for depression and anxiety since last Tuesday, was meant to start a carpentry apprenticeship on Monday.

Father Des O'Keeffe said his son's disappearance was "totally baffling".

"He's always had an affinity with deprived people who have been deprived," Mr O'Keefe said.

"Everything is a possibility."

Mother Lorraine said her son had an appreciation of spirituality, and recently went with his girlfriend Susie Mansfield to hear the Dalai Lama.

"Please find him, please find my son."

The family believes Mr O'Keeffe would not have headed to Melbourne.

He may have been wearing ugg boots, they said.

There have been reports of a similar-looking man being sighted in a grey hoodie.

Family appeals for their son to come home

14:34 AEST Wed Jul 20 2011 - Nine MSN

The 24-year-old was last seen on the morning of July 15, at his Highton home in Geelong.

All he took with him was a mobile phone which has not been used since.

He didn't turn up to teach his martial arts class that night and or show up to his first day of a carpentry apprenticeship on Monday, which is completely out of character, his family says.

His mother said her son had recently attended sessions with the Dalai Lama on his visit to Melbourne and was a "very caring, sensitive, spiritual soul".

"He was preparing to be making progress, to understanding life as a young adult," his mother Lorraine O'Keeffe told reporters on Wednesday.

"Just to walk out without anything, it doesn't make any sense.

"There doesn't seem to have been any planning involved ... he would've taken his wallet, he would've taken his ID, he would've taken some money."

According to his family and girlfriend, Susie Mansfield, Daniel - who is on medication for depression and anxiety - had been experiencing a few changes in his life recently that may have been overwhelming for him.

He stopped taking his medication four days before he disappeared because he forgot it at his girlfriend's house.

"There's a lot of changes in Dan's life," said Ms Mansfield.

"He recently started a martial arts academy ... he was starting an apprenticeship."

Sergeant Adam Forehan said there had been recent reported sightings of a man fitting Daniel's description, but all were unconfirmed.

Sgt Forehan said police were investigating the possibility that he could be at a homeless shelter, because he had recently taken an interest in assimilating with homeless people and may be seeking to understand their plight.

Sgt Forehan said there was no indication where Daniel could be and allpossibilities were open at this stage, although his disappearance is not believed to be suspicious.

"It would be not dissimilar to the analogy of looking for a needle in a haystack," said Sgt Forehan.

Daniel is 180cm tall and has short brown hair. He was last seen wearing a grey hooded jumper and ugg boots.

Family posts reward to find missing Dan

Jane Harper | July 30th, 2011- Herald Sun

THE desperate family of a missing Highton man is offering a reward for information to help find him.

The family of Daniel O'Keeffe, 24, has also hired a private investigator and set up a website in a bid to trace his whereabouts.

"We definitely fear something has happened to him," mum Lori O'Keeffe said. "He is dearly loved and dearly cherished and he loved us so much."

Mr O'Keeffe was last seen between 9.15am and 9.45am on Friday, July 15.

He disappeared from his Highton home in Summerhill Tce with no ID and no wallet.

His bank accounts have not been accessed.

Mrs O'Keefe said the family hoped to raise as much money as possible for a reward, and the new website would allow well-wishers to donate to the fund.

"I have to find my son, and I will use any means at my disposal," Mrs O'Keeffe said.

Police yesterday asked anyone who sees Mr O'Keeffe to contact them immediately on 000, rather than calling Crime Stoppers.

Geelong Police Sergeant Adam Forehan said there had been several reported sightings since July 20, and police needed to respond as quickly as possible.

Mrs O'Keefe said the new website would also feature the phone number of the family's private investigation team, which would dispatch a member immediately to any reported sightings.

She said the family had not given up hope of her son's safe return.

"I'm so appreciative of all the help and support, but I'm also upset because each day that passes means less chance we are going to find him," she said.

Mr O'Keeffe is 24-years-old, has dark brown hair, and was last seen wearing a grey-hooded jumper and ugg boots.

* Supporters can help by visiting dancomehome.com, following the Twitter feed @DanComeHome, or liking the Facebook page Missing Person - Daniel James O'Keeffe.

Parents of missing man receive shocking ransom notes

A HIGHTON family has been rocked by graphic emails threatening their missing son's life from someone claiming to be his kidnapper.

The sinister emails threatened gruesome violence against Daniel O'Keeffe unless the sender's demands for money were met.

Using the signature "The Keeper", the three emails to Daniel's family were sent on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Daniel's mother, Lori O'Keeffe, said the emails had been forwarded to police, who had told her if the sender was in Australia, they would be found and prosecuted.

Mrs O'Keeffe said the disturbing threats had compounded the family's anguish over Daniel's disappearance.

The 24-year-old has not been seen since he vanished in Geelong on July 15.

"Obviously, they're hoaxes. They're awful why would somebody do that?" Mrs O'Keeffe said. "Is this what people have to go through? Could it get any worse?"

Mrs O'Keeffe said she had replied to the emails and The Keeper had refused to offer any proof they had Daniel, such as providing a photograph of him, answering questions only Daniel would know the answers to, or allowing his family to speak to him.

The emails demanded an initial payment of $10,000 be transferred via Western Union to a recipient in Accra, Ghana.

On receipt of the money, The Keeper said the family would then be contacted and given details about how to exchange the remaining $90,000 for Daniel's return.

The emails threatened Daniel's life if the O'Keeffes did not comply.

"You now have two options before you so let's wait and see which one you love and cherish most between your son and your hard earn money (sic)," The Keeper wrote in one of the emails.

Geelong Police Sergeant Adam Forehan said they were aware of the emails and were investigating the matter, but declined to comment any further.

ONE OF THE EMAILS SENT TO THE O'KEEFFES

`To Desmond O'Keeffe,

You can forward this email to the police as a new lead to the on-going search of your missing son but the truth is that they are never going to be successful not even in a thousand years.

Your son is alive though suffering from constant shock and sure needs urgent medical attention if you sure want him alive but you must make avaliable a US$100,000 or this offer will be off and your chance of re-uniting alive will be sure dead. The Keeper'

Sick email scammers targeting families of missing kids

By Owen Vaughan - news.com.au
news.com.au
November 19, 2011 12:32AM

A SICKENING new take on the Nigerian email scam is targeting the anguished parents of missing kids.

The Australian Federal Police have issued a warning after a Geelong family received a hoax ransom demand about their missing 24-year-old son.

Daniel O'Keeffe parents, Lori and Desmond, received three emails last week signed by someone calling themselves "The Keeper" that threatened violence against him unless they paid $US100,000 ($99,992).

Mrs O'Keeffe said the threats had compounded the family's anguish since he vanished in Geelong on July 15.

"Obviously, they're hoaxes. They're awful why would somebody do that?" she told the Geelong Advertiser. "Is this what people have to go through? Could it get any worse?"

The O'Keeffes were contacted via their Bring Dan Home website and AFP warned that scammers may try to exploit the grief of families who have set up similar sites.

The emails sent to the O'Keeffes demanded they first wire $US10,000 to Accra, in the African nation of Ghana, via Western Union. They would then be contacted and given details about paying the remaining rest.

One email said: "You now have two options before you so let's wait and see which one you love and cherish most between your son and your hard earn money."

Another demand read:

To Desmond O'Keeffe,

You can forward this email to the police as a new lead to the on-going search of your missing son but the truth is that they are never going to be successful not even in a thousand years.

Your son is alive though suffering from constant shock and sure needs urgent medical attention if you sure want him alive but you must make available a US$100,000 or this offer will be off and your chance of re-uniting alive will be sure dead. The Keeper

Victoria Police said the emails had originated overseas and were "likely to be a scam", adding that the "offer of information was not credible".

Email scams run out of Ghana are known to exploit people's fears. One known as the "Romance Scam" involves the fraudster building up an online relationship with the victim and gaining their confidence and affection. An email is then sent to the target saying their new love has been kidnapped and needs help in paying the ransom.

Another trick involves hacking into email accounts of travellers and sending their families and friends a message claiming they are in trouble and need financial help (click here to see a video of Ghana scammers explaining why they target vulnerable people).

It is believed this is the first time the kidnap scam has been used on families of missing Australians.

The scam has reared its head before in the US and has been the subject of numerous investigations by the FBI.

Some of the emails say the missing person is being held by a cult and demand money in exchange for information (click to see two examples of scam emails).

The director of Project Jason, a website set up in the US for families of missing persons, has warned anyone who receives these types of emails to contact authorities.

Kelly Jolkowski urged families not to publish their contact details openly on the internet (missing persons: help list).

Ms Jolkowski told news.com.au that social media, such as Facebook, was a particular problem.

"People will go onto these sites and want to put out as much information about their missing loved one as they can," she said. "They'll build up relationships with strangers and accept friendship from pretty much anyone.

"The families are so desperate, so emotional, they're not thinking straight."

She said email addresses on dedicated sites should be to "throwaway" accounts that are accessible to police. However, the best form of protection was for the police to take care of emails so they can filter out any false leads.

Ms Jolkowski said the scams caused long-term psychological damage to victims already suffering the daily trauma of not knowing the whereabouts of their loved one.

When they find out that the offer of information is false, "the resulting crash is devastating".

In some cases the victims are left with a lingering doubt - that the offer of information could have been real.

She urged families of missing persons to arm themselves with as much information as possible. "Know that you can always have hope - hope you can find answers."

EXPLOITING GRIEF: EXAMPLES OF SCAM EMAILS

Dear X,

X is being held against his will in a remote area of the city.

I know the kidnappers address and the exact location on the property were they are holding X and few other people captive.

I will only give you the address and the exact location on the property were he is being held if you can pay $20,000 dollars only. You will pay $10,000 dollars in advance and pay up the balance amount of $10,000 dollars when I give you the address and he is rescued.

For security reasons I want to remain anonymous so please don't inform the police or anybody about my communication with you until I give you the exact location of were he is being held. If you inform the police or anybody about my communication with you now you wont hear from me again and I wont give you the information you need.

Awaiting your reply

John

Dear X

X is being held by a cult which kidnaps and keeps people in captivity for spiritual purposes. I know the address and exact location of the place were he is being held because I used to be a guard at the house were the cult is holding these people until I escaped few months ago.

I will only give you the address and exact location of were he is being held if you can pay $15,000 dollars only, you will pay $10,000 dollars in advance and pay up the balance amount of $5,000 dollars when I give you the address and he is rescued.

For security reasons, I want to remain anonymous, so please don't inform the police or anybody about my communication with you for now until i give you the address of were he is being held. This rescue plan should be a top secret to the police and people for now because the plan might be jeopardized if you inform the police or anybody now, so endeavor to keep my communication with you to yourself alone. If you inform the police or anybody about my communication with you now, you won't hear from me again and i wont give you the address.

Awaiting your reply

John

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR LOVED ONE GOES MISSING

AFP: Your first response
http://www.afp.gov.au/media-centre/news/afp/2011/august/when-someone-goes-missing-more-than-one-person-is-lost.aspx

Support for families
http://www.missingpersons.gov.au/support/overview.aspx

Help with the search
http://www.missingpersons.gov.au/support/helping-with-search.aspx

How to protect yourself from scams
http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/tag/MoreScams

Protect yourself against identity fraud
http://www.afp.gov.au/media-centre/news/afp/2011/october/media-release-afp-urges-public-to-protect-themselves-against-identity-fraud.aspx

Project Jason forums
http://projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=1098.0

http://projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=11580.0

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/is-this-the-start-of-a-shocking-new-email-scam/story-e6frfkvr-1226197638758#ixzz1f9zvhZ8F

Homeless theory in hunt for missing man Daniel O'Keeffe

Family appeals for their son to come home

Family posts reward to find missing Dan

Family of missing Geelong man Daniel O'Keeffe appeal to farmers

Parents of missing man receive shocking ransom notes

Sick email scammers targeting families of missing kids