Nigerian scam - A new old scam is back.

A couple of sellers on webuyhousesdirect.com.au have notified us that they have been contacted by people overseas pretending to be interested in their property.

Their contact takes the form of what is known as the 'Nigerian scam'.

They usually offer you a large sum of money to buy your house, and have some story such as they are very ill or have a large inheritance or caught in a civil war etc etc.

Then, they usually state they hold a position of a trusted social standing such as church or hold a governmental position.

The story normally ended up like they can not buy your house now until they go back to Nigerian and collect the money first.

In order to do so, they then ask you to assist them by sending them money for flight ticket or provide them with your bank account details so that once they are there, they can send you the money.

The best thing to do is to ignore these emails. You should NEVER give out your personal or banking details to somebody you don't know.

If you still think the contact may be genuine, make sure you seek the advice of an independent professional (lawyer, accountant or financial planner) before committing any money. You are also welcome to report them and to find out more about scams in general on the Australian government's scam watch website http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/.

If you receive unwanted email contact from any Australian businesses as their contact is against Australia's spam laws. I would encourage you to report infringements of this policy to the Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA).

ACMC also have a web site to submit a complaint and it is https://web.acma.gov.au/secure/complaint_form.htm.

ACMA's phone number is ph: 1300850115.