Gardai yesterday issued a warning about a new spate of Nigerian fraud letters after it emerged two investors in Cork and Kerry have lost more than £50,000 between them in the scam in the past six weeks.
The two investors paid over the money to an agent for the fraud operation on the promise that their investment would be doubled after the money was used to free up $33 million in Nigeria.
According to Det Insp Eugene Gallagher of the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation, the fraud is the latest in a number of Nigerian letter scams where investors pay over advance fees in anticipation of quick returns on their money.
Last year bureau officers estimated that some £500,000 was lost by investors in Cork and Kerry who fell for the scam, which has netted Nigerian fraudsters millions of pounds worldwide in the past five years.
Det Insp Gallagher revealed details of the latest incident at a press briefing following the launch of a new Garda Siochana Fraud Alert compiled in conjunction with accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers. He said reported cases by financial institutions of suspicious money transactions are running at 130 per cent this year above the equivalent period last year when more than 1,202 suspicious transactions were reported by banks.
Launching the Garda Siochana Fraud Alert guide, West Cork Chief Supt Dermot Dwyer said it was an impressively comprehensive publication which answered any questions business people and others might have about fraud and how to prevent it.
Copies of the guide, produced by Det Insp Gallagher and Det Sgt John McCann of the GBFI and Mr Oliver Holt and Mr Ken Johnson of PricewaterhouseCoopers, are available from the GBFI, Harcourt Square, Dublin, or any PricewaterhouseCoopers office.