Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
POLICE in Alicante have arrested a 58-year-old Nigerian man for trying to scam a victim out of €400,000 by claiming he had a ‘magic chemical’ that increased the value of banknotes.
The con started when the detainee contacted the owner of some commercial buildings in Alicante- stating that he was interested in buying one of them for over €1 million.
The scammer claims to have brought the money from Switzerland.
READ MORE
The fraudster took out a briefcase that contained bundles of paper in black. The fake banknotes are wrapped in plastic and talcum powder.
He claimed to possess a ‘family secret’ which was a special chemical that could transform the black paper into genuine banknotes.
He set up a ‘demonstration’ where he had previously wrapped two €50 notes in tin foil along with the other black notes to hoodwink the property seller.
As if by magic, he applied the liquid that amazingly turned the two ‘black’ notes into real currency.
The Nigerian then asked the seller for €400,000 in banknotes of different denominations which he promised to boost into €1.1 million thanks to his chemical process.
He even returned several days later, to leave behind additional products and tools in advance of the final transform.
The victim became suspicious, and reported what he saw to the Policia Nacional of Alicante.
Officers confirmed that he had been marked out to be duped by a sophisticated scam known as a ‘whitewash’.
The police organised a reception party to intercept the fraudster at his next meeting where he was going to take the €400,000.
He was spotted prowling around in a suspicious manner to avoid being seen and arrested when he entered his victim’s house.
Officers seized all of the chemicals, tools, and materials that were going to be used for the scam.
The Olive Press offers Costa Blanca News.
