‘Nigerian prince’ email scammer arrested in Slidell, LA
‘Nigerian prince’ email scammer arrested in Slidell
POSTED 10:25 AM, DECEMBER 29, 2017, BY WGNO WEB DESK
SLIDELL – A 67-year-old Slidell man who served as a
go-between for an international team of scammers running a “Nigerian prince”
email scheme has been arrested after an 18-month investigation.
Michael Neu, who is neither Nigerian nor a prince, has
been charged with 269 counts of wire fraud and money laundering.
Neu helped shuttle fraudulently obtained money to his
co-conspirators, some of whom actually do live in Nigeria, according to the
Slidell Police Department.
The ubiquitous scheme, which begins when an email is sent
to an unsuspecting recipient the scammers claim has been named as the
beneficiary in a will, is designed to collect personal information that is then
used to steal money and identities online.
The scheme nets millions of dollars each year, according
to the SPD, and is difficult to track since many of the participants operate
outside of the United States.
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,”
Slidell Police Chief Randy Fandal said. “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.”
Other versions of the scam involve people claiming to
represent law enforcement agencies or utility companies.
To avoid identity theft scams like this, always ask for a
callback number and verify the identity of the person attempting to collect the
information, according to the SPD.
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