Australian police are trialing a new tie-in with their opposite numbers in Nigeria to crush Internet scams which originate from that country.
They have created an online portal which gives fraud and scam victims the chance to report their case to Ghana police or the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Queensland police Detective Superintendent Brian Hay told AP that Internet fraud and scams came in many guises, preying mainly on lonely hearts and businesses that can be easily fooled into sending cash to places such as Nigeria.
He said that the portal will make the process far more efficient and give people instant connectivity, which is something they would have struggled with in the past. Nigeria has been deeply embarrassed by its reputation for Internet fraud and has been cracking down on the scammers lately.
Hay said that while investment and inheritance frauds are reducing, the big problem they’ve got now is a 100 percent increase in romance and relationship scams.
