Looks like people are still falling for the scams

Every once in a while, you’ll hear about someone doing something that YOU know far too much to fall for. This is such a tale. A tale of someone falling for one of the oldest online scams known (and the obligatory shorter link in case the original is broken).

The longtime treasurer of Alcona County in northeast lower Michigan has been removed from his job and charged with nine felonies for allegedly stealing county money to invest in the notorious online Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud Scheme, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox announced today.

Thomas Katona, 56, was arraigned in Harrisville today after an investigation that began in December when county officials learned he had directed eight unauthorized wire transfers totaling $186,500 to beneficiaries linked to the Nigerian Advance scheme, Cox said in a statement. Investigators also found that Katona had wired $72,500 of his own money to the same accounts.

An audit of county books in December indicates a shortfall of $1.25 million, more than a quarter of the county’s annual $4-million budget, the Cox statement said.

So sorry to hear that. It seems once again the most gullible are penalized heavily for that. On the other hand, if this had been the one time the scam paid out, think what he could have done for the county treasury.

[tags]Another victim of the Nigerian bank scam, The uninformed pay greatly for not knowing[/tags]