But he said the problem was "far more extensive" than that because police were "well aware" that millions of dollars were going to other countries as part of the same fraud process. Detective Superintendent Hay said NSW was the biggest victim group "by a mile". He said police struggled to get a handle on the issue because many incidents went unreported.

---------------------------------------------------

MashUp Blog: Are you a victim of a Nigerian scam?

---------------------------------------------------

Nigerian scams, also known as 419 frauds, are typically conducted via email and centre on the target being persuaded to advance significant sums of money in the hope of realising a much larger windfall some time in the future. There are many variations. In one version, the scammer poses as a government worker who has embezzled millions of dollars and offers victims a percentage if they help retrieve the money by providing a relatively small amount for bribes or other fees.

The victims believe they are investing to make a large profit but, after receiving the money, the scammer disappears or, for the most gullible of victims, continues to ask for more advances. Some Nigerian fraudsters go as far as setting up fake profiles on dating sites using pictures of attractive men and women. They string along potential targets for months before organising to meet them, but first ask for money to, for instance, help pay for a plane ticket.

Queensland Police recently contacted 139 people who had sent money to Nigeria and found 135 were fraud victims. Some romance scam victims lost $35,000, while businesses who fell prey to Nigerian investment scams - such as the construction of a fictitious oil pipeline - lost up to $5 million. "I get phone calls very regularly from concerned relatives saying, 'Look, I think my mother or my father is a victim of a scam, they won't listen to us. Could you please contact them and explore this situation for me?' " Detective Superintendent Hay said. But to the amazement of police, when victims are informed of the fraud they often continue sending money to the scammers out of sheer pride or embarrassment.

"Here they have this dream that their life is going to turn around, all their money problems are finished and they'll be able to have a future ... and we're smashing it against a brick wall. We're saying, 'Sorry, you're a victim and the hundreds of thousands of dollars that you've parted with has been lost,' " Detective Superintendent Hay said. A 2006 study by research firm Chatham House found Nigerian scams cost the British economy £150 million a year. But the cost to society goes beyond just losing money, police say.

Some victims had attempted suicide while others saw their marriages end and their businesses go bankrupt. Award-winning poet Anne Fairbairn - the only granddaughter of Australia's fourth Prime Minister, Sir George Reid - has fallen prey to a different version of the Nigerian scam. She is a perfect example of the type of person targeted by internet fraudsters. See her story here.

To understand the scope of the Nigerian fraud problem and co-ordinate a response, Victorian Police teamed up with the University of Melbourne to investigate 1400 Victorians who had transferred money to Nigeria recently. The results of the survey will be published this year. Victoria Police Detective Acting Inspector Paul Weller and Detective Superintendent Hay both said most victims were educated professionals and self-funded retirees.

"Many elderly people cannot financially recover once they have been defrauded," Detective Acting Inspector Weller said. Queensland Police was the first Australian law enforcement agency to put Nigerian scammers on the agenda. Late last year it brought law enforcement officials, governments and affected industries from around the world together for the National Nigerian Fraud Symposium. In October it will hold the National Advance Fee Fraud Symposium in Brisbane to build on strategies developed at last year's conference.

NSW Police did not respond to requests for comment on this story, while the Australian Federal Police, which houses the Australian High Tech Crime Centre, referred queries to state police.