As we first reported earlier this week, a Duson woman was recently arrested and charged with one count of felony theft for assisting a scammer in Nigeria.
The victim sent money to a potential employer for start-up costs, and the money was re-routed to Nigeria.
Joan Breaux is charged with one count of felony theft. She was booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center.
Jenn Love, Better Business Bureau of Acadiana Business Administration Manager, says, “My understanding is she somehow got in contact with a Nigerian scammer.. he is sending people emails or contacting them saying that they should apply for a job or a start-up business rather, and then she’ll actually go and collect the money required for the start up business.
After receiving the money, investigators say Breaux then kept some.
Love says, “She then takes a percentage of it and then wires it to the Nigerian scammer.”
Although little information is given, Love thinks the money wasn’t wired.
“This one was a little hard because we like to tell people if money is wired, it’s a scam. Well I think in this situation, the money wasn’t wired. An actual person came to pick it up. And then she wired the money from there,” Love adds.
The Better Business Bureau reminds you to never wire money… you usually won’t get it back.
“Whenever we do talk about job scams, we always say don’t wire money. Or even anything in general, don’t wire money. It’s untraceable,” adds Love.
Businesses usually don’t ask for money up front.
Love explains, “This one was a little bit hard to detect just because it was a local phase. But unfortunately, most businesses don’t ask for money up front and that’s the biggest thing you can go off of.”
Here’s how you can avoid falling victim to these Nigerian scammers:
- Don’t wire money.
- Businesses don’t ask for money up front.
- If it’s too good to be true, it’s most likely a scam
Breaux admitted to investigators she has pulled this scam nearly a dozen times; so far, only one victim has been identified.
