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Australian freed after falling victim to cyber crooks

The danger posed by internet users responding to unsolicited email messages or falling for phishing scams has been highlighted by the case of an Australian man whose freedom has just been secured from Nigerian cyber crooks.

After falling for such a scam and being lured to Gambia, Justin Liebig, 71, suddenly found himself imprisoned by crooks who contacted his family and demanded for money in exchange for his freedom.

Following the February 1st seizure, Mr Liebig's family was forced to part with €5,000 (£4,500) reports the Australian.

Luckily for him, Gambian authorities managed to secure his release, which also led to the arrest of seven crooks, six of whom are said to be of Nigerian descent.

It was recently reported that a UK-based man was left £130,000 poorer after falling for a similar scam.

The man sent money to a mysterious woman in Nigeria to cover alleged medical and funeral expenses and lost even more when "FBI agents" contacted him and asked him to fund their investigations on the matter.

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