Four persons in Arendal, on Norway’s southern coast, were cheated out of more than half-a-million kroner by a man from Nigeria who claimed he could copy money. It’s the latest in a long line of Nigerian swindling attempts.
Local newspaper Agderposten reported Wednesday that some Arendal residents met the man while they were out on the town, and invited him home for late-night drinks.
He then proceeded to show them how he could “make magic”out of 1,000-kroner notes, worth about USD 160 each, by simply rubbing them against a piece of white paper. He claimed that the colored ink in the notes only allowed one copy of each note.
His gullible hosts then turned over large quantities of notes to him, believing they could double their money. One man went to the bank and withdrew NOK 200,000, another couple NOK 35,000. Another man is believed to have turned over NOK 300,000 to the Nigerian, who went by the name of “Bruno.”
Once he had the money in hand, Bruno disappeared. “I would imagine he’s done this several times, and that many have been cheated,” local prosecutor Øyvind Tvedt told Agderposten. Jens Martin Reiersølmoen of the Arendal police department told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) that “only fantasy can limit how people try to cheat other people.”
Comments submitted to NRK’s website tended to agree. “If you can manage to cheat so much money out of someone with such simple party tricks, you deserve every krone,” wrote one.
By Views and News staff
