Eloise Horsfield
by Rund Abdelfatah
HALF a dozen people have been arrested in an online lottery scam accused of defrauding hundreds of victims of more than €1 million in the space of a year.
In 2012 alone 500 victims, mainly of Italian descent, invested money in the scam run by a Nigerian group with branches in Malaga, Torrejon de Ardoz near Madrid, and even as far as Italy.
The fraudsters sent hundreds of emails to people indicating they had won a million dollars and, in order to claim their prize, the winners had to forward them €4,000 to pay for the cover charges.
The money was then collected through bank transfers or deliveries at the post office in Malaga, where the swindlers used forged passports displaying internet photos of famous actors.
After the money was received, the group stopped all contact with the victim.
The arrests follow an investigation launched at the end of 2011 to uncover the inner workings of the operation.
At the time of the arrests, some ‘tried to flee through the window after flushing a large quantity of drugs down the toilet,’ the police said, adding the network also dealt in narcotics.
Anyone who got taken in by this scam deserves what they get.
Come on Fred, surely you don’t mean that? New users to the internet often get taken in by such scams – not through stupidity but through desperation and ignorance – which is sadly why these fraudsters are able to operate.
If you are desperate you don’t normally have €4,000 euros to pay a complete stranger from Nigeria. I re-read your article and still agree, even more strongly, with my original opinion.
Come on Eloise, I am with Fred-for once! How dumb do you have to be to send someone you have never heard of €4000 because they say you have won $1 million in a lottery you never entered?? Desperation and ignorance doesn’t cut it!b
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I also have to agree with Fred, there’s been enough publicity about similar scams for years now, I can’t believe people are still being taken in.