BRISBANE LONELYHEART LOSES $20000 IN SCAM

A Brisbane man has been stripped of $20,000 and left red-faced after his female friend turned out to be a man, in an online romance scam. A 23-year-old man was arrested in Nigeria and charged with fraud over the incident which left 45-year-old Ralph Thomason thousands of dollars out of pocket.

Queensland Police Service worked closely with the Nigerian Economic Financial Crimes Commission in the overseas sting. Police Minister Judy Spence said today the arrest served as a timely reminder for people to be vigilant when using the internet to find romance.

"Requests to send money or personal information like account details overseas to an online companion should be treated with extreme caution." Ms Spence congratulated police for playing a pivotal role in the arrest. "Queensland police are leading the world when it comes to the investigation of Advance Fee Fraud internet-based offences," Ms Spence said.

"This week's result is a testament to the hard work and expertise of our officers." Queenslanders are losing up to $1 million in Nigerian online scams every month.