Brisbane man loses $20,000 in online scam

A Brisbane man was embarrassed after his online lover turned out to be a man and scammed $20,000 from him.

A 23 year-old Nigerian has been arrested for scamming a Brisbane man out of $20,000.

The accused pretended to be a female to spark an online romance with 45 year-old Ralph Thomason.

Queensland Police Service worked with Nigerian Economic Financial Crimes Commission to co-ordinate the arrest.

Police Minister Judy Spence said today the arrest was a reminder to be careful when using the internet to find romance.

“Requests to send money or personal information like account details overseas to an online companion should be treated with extreme caution.” said Spence.

Nigerian online scams are currently costing Queenslanders $1 million per month.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald