It takes a fellow con artist to pull off a fast one over another scammer. This was proven Thursday by an Australian woman who pleaded guilty to cheating Nigerian scammers of $30,000.

Sarah Jane Cochrane-Ramsey, 23, was hired in March 2010 by Nigerians to serve as their agent in Australia by making available a local bank account that she opened for the con group. Under their deal, she could keep 8 per cent of money transfers she made from a fake car sales Web site put up by the Nigerians.

In a racket called advanced fee fraud, the Nigerians may promise money to a local by making available a local bank account used for their fraudulent operations. They initially claim to be rich people who need to transfer their wealth to another country. In exchange for helping them move the funds, the local is promised a certain percentage, however, he often needs to make advance payments to the Nigerians.

When the victims of the fake car Web site scam reported being ripped off, the police traced the account to Cochrane-Ramsey, who was ordered to appear in the Brisbane District Court. The Aussie woman, who has a history of stealing and property offences, filed a guilty plea to the aggravated fraud charge.

She was supposed to retain just 8 per cent of the money paid to her account and send the remaining balance to the Nigerian con artists, who used a New York Web server to put up their phony car sales portal. Cochrane-Ramsey told the court she kept two payments worth $33,350 rather than remit it to the Nigerians.

She is scheduled to be sentenced in March, but was allowed time to come up with money to repay her victims.

Sideshows cited an American radio story recounting a similar incident in 2008. Pranksters outconned a Nigerian scammer by sending him to far-off Chad to get a cash remittance through a Western Union branch. Sideshow is a Web site dedicated to outwitting con artists on the Internet.