DEXTER – A Dexter man fell prey recently to a Nigerian-based scam with which many computer users have become familiar.

In this particular case, the local man agreed to help a person he met in an Internet chat room, who identified herself as a Nigerian woman, to obtain money said to be in a Maine bank. Instead, the man lost more than $3,000.

A certified check drawn from an Auburn bank was sent by the person to the Dexter man, who was asked to cash the $3,400 check, keep $500 for his service and send the rest by Western Union to a provided address.

He followed orders only to discover a day or two later that the check was bogus, according to Dexter police Chief Arthur Roy.

Roy said the man now has to reimburse the bank for the $3,400.

“People should be aware of this scheme,” he said.

The Dexter man, who has had Internet conversations with the person for about a year, joins others throughout the country who have fallen prey to variations of a scheme that has been around for several years. In fact, the U.S. Secret Service set up a task force in 2002 to investigate this type of fraud, referred to as “advance fee fraud.”

According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Web site, these schemes involve someone pretending to be a Nigerian official or businessperson who asks ordinary individuals and companies to help move money out of Nigeria in exchange for high, hassle-free profits. The person behind the scheme solicits investors through mass mailings, faxes, phone calls and e-mails.

Linda Conti, Maine assistant attorney general, said the Attorney General’s Office does not get involved in these international scams but refers them to the federal government.

The Attorney General’s Office does, however, warn callers to never respond to these e-mails, faxes, letters or calls, she said.

“If it’s from Nigeria, it’s a scam,” she said. Any solicitation of funds from an unknown source that asks to have the money sent by Western Union is typically a bogus operation, the state official noted.

Conti said her office had received an e-mail in recently informing them that several individuals in Nigeria have been arrested for advance fee fraud.