This was on the Australian news yesterday. Nigeria is now a suburb of Sydney, Oz.

Helen

Sydney man arrested over 'Nigerian' email scam. 30/10/2003. ABC News Online

[This is the print version of story http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s978806.htm]

Last Update: Thursday, October 30, 2003. 5:26pm (AEDT)
Arrest made over junk email scam.

Sydney man arrested over 'Nigerian' email scam

New South Wales police say they have achieved a world first with an arrest in relation to a 'west African' or 'Nigerian' email fraud.

Police arrested a 39-year-old Sydney man this morning in relation to a scam which has netted millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims in Australia and overseas.

The State Assets Confiscation Unit raided two homes in Sydney taking computers and documents.

Nine properties in Sydney and Nyngan in New South Wales's west have been siezed, as well as five cars, several bank accounts and a home in the United Kingdom.

The swoop follows a four-month investigation by the unit into a Sydney-based syndicate suspected of carrying out the scams, also known as 'west African' or 'Nigerian' frauds.

Police say the scam generally involves a junk email inviting the recipient to sign up for a business opportunity or to collect a lottery win.

The frauds are named 'Nigerian' or 'west African' because they often ask the victim to send money to an account in west Africa.

The investigation was sparked by complaints from people in Hungary and Canada in relation to the scam.

Inspector Jennifer Thommeny says this type of fraud exploits people's gullibility.

"It's very similar to the old Nigerian-type frauds that've been around for about 10 to 15 years where a notification of a lottery win or an inheritence is sent to you either by email or by fax and you are asked to pay an administrative fee to release the funds into your bank account," she said.


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