Nobody could be hooked by that old Nigerian letter scam, could they? No one surely believes the family of some deposed/executed politician/mogul has a spare $US30 million or so stuck in a bank vault, and all you have to do is give them access to your bank account so they can shift the money and leave a few million behind as a way of saying thanks.

But yes, it’s still happening, despite the fact that the scam is at least 15 years old. It’s estimated to have reaped the scamsters millions of dollars, and there’s still one being born every minute.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) suspects that former Victorian financial adviser Robert Street is one of the many. He has received court orders to permanently cease his involvement in the Australian financial services industry after losing more than $700,000 of his clients’ money.

ASIC said it suspects Mr Street, of Mitcham, sent some of the funds overseas to people connected with a Nigerian letter scam. The money has not been recovered.

Under the enforceable undertaking he has made with ASIC, Mr Street has agreed not to provide any financial services and to wind-up his business, Tira Pty Ltd. The investigation is continuing.