MAN ARRESTED OVER NIGERIAN NET SCAM

[AussieMark]

Man arrested over Nigerian Net scam

NSW Police claim to have cracked the multi-million dollar, so-called Nigerian internet scam based in Australia with the arrest of a 39-year-old Sydney man.

The Nigerian or West African scam involved fraudsters sending out a flood of spam emails conning people into believing they could claim millions of dollars through lottery winnings, an inheritance or business opportunity if they first sent off money for "expenses".

Police said the arrest followed a four-month investigation and was the first capture of a key Australian figure involved in the global scam.

Detectives from the State Crime Command Assets Confiscation Unit (ACU) arrested the man during a search of a property in Nyngan in the state's central west.

Simultaneous raids were conducted at two homes in Cecil Hills and Lurnea, in Sydney's south-west, where computers and numerous documents were seized.

ACU Commander Jennifer Thommeny said the Sydney-based international syndicate had targeted hundreds of victims in Australia and overseas.

"In the last six months, we've probably tracked about $1.5 million," Inspector Thommeny told reporters in Sydney.

"This is really significant, we believe that this is the first arrest of its kind in the world relating to an Australian connection.

"We have identified victims who have been approached in NSW, South Australia, Victoria, Cyprus, Malaysia, Japan, Norway, Greece, Indonesia, Hong Kong and England and in many cases have been conned into handing over hundreds of thousands of dollars."

The man arrested is yet to be charged, police say.

Insp Thommeny said it was a relatively simple racket to set up and authorities have had trouble catching the culprits because the victims usually lived overseas.

"It's difficult to say whether we'll see an end to it because it's all about people's gullibility - it's all about whether or not they think they can win the lottery," she said.

But in the case of Nigerian frauds, it's a lottery in which the victims haven't even purchased a ticket.

Most people ignore such emails as "too good to be true" - which they are - but others become entangled.

Many victims - who range from the needy to the greedy - were so embarrassed about being fooled that they never reported the crimes.

"Sometimes you will get someone that's really ill and down on their luck and they think `oh, my God it's a gift from heaven'," Insp Thommeny said.

"It takes a very greedy, ruthless person to set up this scam, because it's very simple."

Some people realise their mistake after the first payment, but others keep handing over money even when fraudsters demand further fees, like a Terrorist Clearance Fee.

Authorities issued freeze orders on nine Sydney properties, a UK property, and five vehicles - meaning they cannot be sold and may even be confiscated if prosecution is successful.