Police arrest alleged 'Nigerian prince' email scammer in Louisiana
A Louisiana man was arrested in connection with the "Nigerian prince" scheme
that has scammed people out of thousands of dollars, police announced on
Thursday.
Michael Neu, 67, faces 269 counts of wire fraud and money laundering after
being taken into custody following an 18-month investigation, according to
the Slidell Police Department.
Police said Neu is suspected of being the scam's "middle man" who obtained money
and "subsequently wired" funds to his co-conspirators in Nigeria.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, the
phishing scam begins with an email purporting to be from a high-ranking Nigerian
official who seeks financial assistance or personal information to retrieve an
alleged inheritance.
Though the scheme is often the butt of late-night TV jokes, people have
fallen victim to the scam, officials say.
"Most people laugh at the thought of falling for such a fraud, but law
enforcement officials report annual losses of millions of dollars to these
schemes," the Slidell police said in a statement.
Authorities warn to be cautious when receiving suspicious emails or phone
calls from unknown individuals and urge people not to disclose personal or
financial information. Slidell Police Chief Randy Fandal said he hopes Neu's
arrest serves as a warning to the public.
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," Slidell Police Chief
Randy Fandal said in a statement. "Never give out personal information over the
phone, through e-mail, cash checks for other individuals, or wire large amounts
of money to someone you don’t know. 99.9 percent of the time, it’s a scam.”
Source: USA TODAY
No comments
Your comments and Encouragement are welcome