Nigerian Scams Create Millionaires

[britmaveric]

Online scams create "Yahoo! millionaires"

In Lagos, where scamming is an art, the quickest path to wealth for the cyber-generation runs through a computer screen.

Akin is, like many things in cyberspace, an alias. In real life he's 14. He wears Adidas sneakers, a Rolex Submariner watch, and a kilo of gold around his neck.

Akin, who lives in Lagos, is one of a new generation of entrepreneurs that has emerged in this city of 15 million, Nigeria's largest. His mother makes $30 a month as a cleaner, his father about the same hustling at bus stations. But Akin has made it big working long days at Internet cafes and is now the main provider for his family and legions of relatives.

Call him a "Yahoo! millionaire."

Akin buys things online - laptops, BlackBerries, cameras, flat-screen TVs - using stolen credit cards and aliases. He has the loot shipped via FedEx or DHL to safe houses in Europe, where it is received by friends, then shipped on to Lagos to be sold on the black market. (He figures Americans are too smart to sell a camera on eBay to a buyer with an address in Nigeria.)

Akin's main office is an Internet cafe in the Ikeja section of Lagos. He spends up to ten hours a day there, seven days a week, huddled over one of 50 computers, working his scams.

And he's not alone: The cafe is crowded most of the time with other teenagers, like Akin, working for a "chairman" who buys the computer time and hires them to extract e-mail addresses and credit card information from the thin air of cyberspace. Akin's chairman, who is computer illiterate, gets a 60 percent cut and reserves another 20 percent to pay off law enforcement officials who come around or teachers who complain when the boys cut school. That still puts plenty of cash in Akin's pocket.

A sign at the door of the cafe reads, WE DO NOT TOLERATE SCAMS IN THIS PLACE. DO NOT USE E-MAIL EXTRACTORS OR SEND MULTIPLE MAILS OR HACK CREDIT CARDS. YOU WILL BE HANDED OVER TO THE POLICE. NO 419 ACTIVITY IN THIS CAFE. The sign is a joke; 419 activity, which refers to the section of the Nigerian law dealing with obtaining things by trickery, is a national pastime. There are no coherent laws relating to e-scams, the police are mostly computer illiterate, and penalties for financial crimes are light.

No penalties for breaking the law

"The deterrent factor is not there at all," says Thomas Oli, a Lagos lawyer, citing the case of a former police inspector general who was convicted of stealing more than $100 million and got only six months in jail.

"What do you want me to do?" Akin asks in pidgin English, explaining why he turned to a life of Internet crime. "It is my God-given talent. Our politicians, they do their own; me, I'm doing my own. I feed my family - my sister, my mother, my popsie. Man must survive."

The scams perpetrated by Akin and his comrades are many and varied: moneygram interceptions, Western Union hijackings, check laundering, identity theft, and outright begging, with tall tales of dying relatives and large sums of money in search of safe haven. One popular online fraud often practiced by women (or boys pretending to be women) involves separating lonely men from their money.

Attempts to speak to government officials about Internet crime were futile. They all claimed ignorance of such scams; some laughed it off as Western propaganda.

But last November the Economic Fraud and Financial Crimes Commission won a high-profile case that had dragged on for years against Emmanuel Nwude, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years for bilking a Brazilian bank out of $242 million using an Internet scam involving phony bank drafts. The commission is also pursuing a case against 419 kingpin Fred Ajudua, a lawyer and businessman accused of using the Internet to steal $1 million from a victim in Germany.

Some officials, who asked not be identified, said young people are drawn to Internet crime as a way of getting back at a society that has no plans for them. Others see it as a form of reparation for the sins of the West.

Or as Akin puts it, "White people are too gullible. They are rich, and whatever I gyp them out of is small change to them."

-Fortune Magazine

By Leonard Lawal

May 22, 2006: 3:28 PM EDT

[Crushdepth]

If there was ever a country that should be disconnected from the internet, surely this is it.

[giffarine]

Bang on, below the extraction of latesr email I receive today & trust many fellow members do receive them. They just need one sucker to respond from their thousands of emails send out each day to give details of your bank account.

Not difficult to obtain our email addresses, but once they get one address, their shared data will flood spam our emails as below, enjoying reading, but better to delete without opening the mails.

Read the trash below.

======================

Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 20:25:46 +0100 (GMT+01:00)

Sender: [email protected]

BE NOTIFIED.

MULLINS TRUST BV

MOLENSTRAAT 52B, 3046GL ROTTERDAM-

NETHERLANDS.

RESULTS FOR CATEGORY "A" DRAWS

Congratulations to you as we bring to your notice, the results of the First Category draws of E-MAIL LOTTERY organised by STAATS INT. We are happy to inform you that you have emerged a winner under the First Category, which is part of our promotional draws. The draws were held on 20th of April 2006 and results are being officially announced today 22nd of May 2006. Participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from 2,500,000 email addresses of individuals and companies from Africa, America, Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East, and Oceania as part of our International Promotions Program. Your e-mail address, attached to ticket number675432890044/376, with serial number 2200-33 drew the lucky numbers 1-0-11-44-03-22 and consequently won in the First Category.

You have therefore been awarded a lump sum pay out of One million (1,000,000.00) Euros, which is the winning payout for Category A winners. This is from the total prize money from 15,000,000.00 Euros shared among the 15 winners in this category.

Your fund is now deposited with the paying Bank. In your best interest to avoid mix up of numbers and names of any kind, we request that you keep the entire details of your award strictly from public notice until the process of transferring your claims has been completed, and your funds remitted to your account. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or unscrupulous acts by participants / non participants of this program. Please contact your claims agent immediately for due processing and remittance of your prize money to a designated account of your choice:

To file for your claim, please contact the CLAIMS agent.

APPROVED CLAIMS PROCESSING OFFICER.

FRANK VAN DIJK (MR)

EMAIL: [email protected]

You are advised to contact the agents by email.NOTE: For easy reference and identification, find below

your reference and Batch numbers. Remember to quote these numbers in every one of your correspondence with your claims agent. REFERENCE NUMBER: GPINT/7980/4376/06 BATCH NUMBER:33/904/G3

Congratulations once again from all our staff and thank you for being part of our promotions program.

Sincerely Yours,

Mrs.Laura Cohen.

[giffarine]

This bogus Banker tried to be “MSN millionaires” with hotmail account. There should be some way email providers to suspend such accounts.

This one retrieved from trash folder.

========================

Sender email: [email protected]

FROM THE DESK OF MR.ISSA AHMED

BILL AND EXCHANGE MANAGER

BANK OF AFRICAN (B O A)

OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO

I am the manager of bill and exchange at the foreign remittance department of BANK OF AFRICA BURKINA FASO. I got your contact address through internet net work search when searching for a good and reliable person that will assist me in this transaction.

In my department we discovered an abandoned sum of 22.3m US Dollars ( twenty two milllion three hundred thousand us dollars), in an account that belongs to one of our foreign customer who died on 31th JULY 2000 IN SUPER SONIC CONCORDE plane crash AT CHARLES DE GAULLE AIRPORT IN PARIS FRANCE along with

his entire family.

Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless somebody applies for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines but unfortunately we learnt that all his supposed next of kin or relation died alongside with him at the plane crash leaving nobody behind for the claim. It is therefore upon this

discovery that I decided to make this business proposal to you and release the money to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and i don't want this money to go into the Bank treasury as unclaimed Bill.

The request of foreigner as next of kin in this business is occasioned by the fact that the customer was a foreigner and a Burkinabe cannot stand as next of kin to a foreigner.

I agree that 30% of this money will be for you as foreign partner, in respect to the provision of a foreignaccount and 60% would be for me and 10% would be set aside for any expenses that would be incur during the process of the transfer

Therefore to enable the immediate transfer of this fund to you as arranged, you must apply first to the bank as relations or next of kin of the deceased indicating your bank name, your bank account number, your private telephone and fax number for easy and effective communication and location where in the money will be remitted.

Upon receipt of your reply, I will send to you by fax or email the text of the application. I will not fail to bring to your notice that this transaction is hitch free and that you should not entertain any atom of fear as all required arrangements have been made for the transfer.

You should contact me immediately as soon as you receive this mail through my Email box

Your's faithfully

MR.ISSA AHMED

[SMS]

i cant imagine they would be getting any response.

I get like 100s of such mails every month and never have or never will give their mail any thought.

If any one thinks that some stranger will just give them millions for investment or safekeeping....then its their fault that they get defrauded.

[clokwise]

My wife's best friend (Thai) got snagged by one of these guys a couple years ago. She asked us for a loan, but of course she had been instructed to lie, so she told us it was to buy supplies for her company because a large order had come in, so it would only be a couple weeks. In fact she had borrowed money from every member of her and her boyfriend's family, all their friends (including a large amount from my wife), mortgaged the house, and sold all their possessions (tv, motorcycle, etc), even sold their business. She 'disappeared' for several months and we couldn't find her. We sent messages through her family expressing our concern. Finally she broke down and confessed the truth about a Nigerian General blah blah blah... She sent us all the email correspondence, and when I read through it I realized she STILL believed this guy! In fact she and her boyfriend got passports and were heading to Jakarta to do the handoff the next day. I figured it was likely they would be murdered and dumped in a river. So we managed to stop them after I sent them a few website links about the scam. When she finally realized she'd been stung, she vanished entirely, as did her boyfriend. Now all her friends hate her for taking their money, her family has disowned her, and there is a rumour she may have killed herself. No one really knows. This girl was a uni graduate, a smart and successful businesswoman, and nearly the last person you'd think would fall this scam. But she got greedy...

These guys are insideous and heartless, it's not a laughing matter if someone you know gets stung.

[giffarine]

Common sense knew it was a scam. Was so fed-up receiving it everyday, just curious to know what they are up to, I made a reply “Go On”. Prompt reply asked for my contact number. I gave him my iPhone number. He called spoke fluent English, blah blah blah good talker, told him I’m busy. He said he will call again, true enough he kept on calling while we are good listeners with hand free phone for all my staffs to hear. He called at any appointed time, Thai 1800 hours.

Since after work, we enjoyed his conversations, he could explain all the details, sorrows how his client suffered asked for assistance urgently blah blah. Even invested to fax us legal documents, court orders etc. After various calls, he started to show impatient after more then 10 calls within 3 evenings, our time. He was uneasy with all the background jagging by my staffs. Asked why so many people, told him we are all going to share windfalls thru his goodwill. He knew we are jokers, finally he asked “are we interested” The answer is NO, never mind was his reply & hung-up.

Few days later he email again, enjoy reading it during your spare time

===================================

Email from: [email protected]

I need to inform you that i spoke to my client Ms.Mariam Hakin concerning your withdrawal in this project, and she asked me to plead with you that she would need your assistance because meeting someone else or searching for a new beneficiary will be so difficult for her.

I will need to use this medium to plead with you on her behalf for your assistance in this project, since she is insisting on you. You find a way in your heart to help her out of this stress she is encountering in her country sierra Leone.

Can you ever imagine that someone that have such hug amount of money in an account in europe find it difficult to eat a three square mail, that is something else if you think well.

She also asked me to inform you that your 20% shall be deducted as soon as the funds is transfered without any further delay.

She would love to come to your country to enable you introduce her to a kind of investment as soon as the fund is being transfer. That will be an opportunity for her to visite Thailand's if you do not mind.

Thanks,

Barr.Yezback Van Smith.

=====

Email from: [email protected]

Dear Sirs,

I try calling you concerning my client Ms.Mariam.A.Hakin whom will is in my possession,and there was no answer.

I will need you to call me on +31-649-210-065 or you send me an email to enable us proceed.

Regads,

Barr.Yezback Van Smith.

===============================================

Our action,

We called the above number since we have unlimited VoIP IDD calling system. Ringing, he answered. Before he could say anything, he heard “Calling for FBI investigating a possible scam by…” before can finish, he hung-up. Call again no one answer. GAME OVER! Over windfalls blew off in the air.

Have a nice day folks.

[penzman]

I get none of this crap through GMAIL. Been spam free for months. I've been trying to get my mother to drop Outlook for years after multiple virus attacks and tons of spam, she still uses it...

[Bluffer]

This bogus Banker tried to be “MSN millionaires” with hotmail account. There should be some way email providers to suspend such accounts.

at a guess it would be [email protected] you would report it to.

or click the feedback link on msn.com

[Thaising]

Although the nigerian scams is well know, we should not overlook the rest.

WASHINGTON - Some 565 suspects were arrested in Europe and in North and South America in a crackdown on Internet fraud dubbed "Operation Global Con," US officials announced.

More than 2.8 million people, mainly elderly US citizens, fell victim to the scams, suffering losses totalling more than one billion dollars, the Justice Department said in a statement.

The operation, which began in March, targets mass-marketing scams such as bogus lottery, prize and sweepstakes offerings; offers of nonexistent investments; fake offers of "pre-approved" credit cards or credit-card protection; and tax fraud schemes.

In the United States 139 suspects were arrested, with an additional 426 arrests in Canada, Costa Rica, the Netherlands and Spain as well as the help of officials in Nigeria, Britain and New Zealand, the statement read.

"Mass-market fraudsters think they can use modern technology to operate from anywhere in the world with impunity," US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said at a press conference.

"These criminals use telemarketing, the Internet and mass mailings to cheat unsuspecting people," he said. - AFP/ir

[Toni]

If there was ever a country that should be disconnected from the internet, surely this is it.

isn't it an idea to foreward all the Nigerian sh... to:

[email protected] or [email protected] ?

Might be it helps a bit, untill they are blocking your mail-address!

[klrsmith]

If there was ever a country that should be disconnected from the internet, surely this is it.

If you want to have a good laugh, take a look at this site - the people there specifically keep these morons tied up in long email exchanges running in circles, causing them to spend their own money moving around to pickup cash from say western union offices like 2 hours from the scammer's location, have them take pics holding hilarious signs, etc.

http://www.419eater.com/

Regards,

Kevin

[Amethyst]

Nigerian Scammer Got Scammed !

15 July 2006

Latest News On The Scams...

The tables have been turned on at least one Nigerian scammer after an online vigilante successfully played him at his own game with an intricately laid "anti-scam" operation.

The campaign netted a life-sized wooden carving of a Commodore 64 computer keyboard which was sent all the way from Africa to the scambaiter who is code-named Shiver Metimbers.

Millions of dollars have been conned out of gullible Australians who fall for a variety of Nigerian scams (also known as 419 scams) received via spam email or in a targeted response to an online advertisements they have placed.

Shiver Metimbers runs a website called 419eater.com, which is an internet hub for scam-baiting advice and war-stories. But his most recently celebrated exploit is what he describes as an "artwork anti-scam" in which he poses as the director of Derek Trotter Fine Arts.

To ensnare his victim, Shiver Metimbers replied to numerous scam emails with a standard letter apologising that he was too busy to accept their business proposition at this time, asking instead if they knew of any local artists that might benefit from his financial help.

When he found a willing victim, his anti-scam unfolded in much the same way as a typical 419 scam, promising payment only after a substantial investment had been laid down - in this case the receipt of a series of commissioned wooden carvings from a local artist.

With some creative photo editing, Shiver Metimbers was able to string along his quarry with claims that the two carvings sent had mysteriously been damaged enroute, the first through a mysterious shrinking process, and the second by a rogue African hamster.

At the end of the campaign, his booty included a wooden carving of UK characters from the Creature Comforts TV series, and a carving of a Commodore 64 computer keyboard.

After sending over these intricate but unusual wooden carvings, the sting in the tail came when the 419 scammer received seemingly "official" police notification that his recent dealings with a person calling himself Derek Trotter were in fact with a notorious art forger and fraudster who had now been arrested.

Nigerian scams have been around for many years, but are now far more prevalent owing to the ease with which they can be orchestrated via the internet.

Shiver Metimbers writes on his website that the point of scambaiting is to "enter into a dialogue with scammers, simply to waste their precious time and resources".

"Whilst you are doing this, you will be helping to keep the scammers away from real potential victims and screwing around with the minds of deserving thieves," he writes.

Most of the current scams are derived from Africa with victims either lured by the promise of a percentage in an investment with guaranteed high returns, or by what they interpret as a genuine appeal for help.

Earlier this year Queensland police calculated that such scams had raised more than $7 million in the state with country-wide figures expected to be far higher.

The NSW Fraud Squad has received numerous reports of attempted scams and has also been involved in two high-profile convictions linking back to West Africa.

From Blogsome

Edited July 15, 2006 by tytus

[astral]

The tables have been turned on at least one Nigerian scammer after an online vigilante successfully played him at his own game with an intricately laid "anti-scam" operation.

I am glad to hear that.

[p_brownstone]

I recall reading somewhere that these Nigerian 419 Scams are among the top 5 Foreign Exchange earners for Nigeria, and as such the Government there has little interest in closing down the operations.

The very fact that they continue, when it is very easy to trace the senders and their associates (after all, every Scam Email contains contact telephone numbers, often even addresses) would seem to indicate that there is some truth in this.

Patrick

[solo siam]

I don't really feel sorry for the people who get taken in, the only way these scammers sucker people in is with deals that are way too good to be true. Also they all involve going about things in a pretty underhand way, sending money first, using only Western Union etc...

Most people probably presume they are getting 'hot' items, else I can't think why they would assume that an anonymous person on the internet can offer them such good prices.

I'd just call it unintentional charity, I'm sure the money actually means some people can eat - and lets face it, if you are buying electronics over the internet then you certainly can afford food.

I'm not justifying the scammers, but the biggest problem here is the junk mail that even those of us intelligent enough not to get scammed still have to suffer. After all, if nobody ever replied then nobody would bother sending them.

[chuchok]

If there was ever a country that should be disconnected from the internet, surely this is it.

I can't agree.It's the greedy people that get sucked in that should be banned from the internet.

[Oleg_Rus]

If there was ever a country that should be disconnected from the internet, surely this is it.

I can't agree.It's the greedy people that get sucked in that should be banned from the internet.

True, its a stupidity and greed that drives ppl into such scam. Anyhow - it's a biz for them of some sort, nobody forced victims to get into that. They did it themselves, so good for them.

[maerkus]

If you want to have a good laugh, take a look at this site - the people there specifically keep these morons tied up in long email exchanges running in circles, causing them to spend their own money moving around to pickup cash from say western union offices like 2 hours from the scammer's location, have them take pics holding hilarious signs, etc.

There's also another site for anti-scams, and this is my favorite thread;

http://www.thescambaiter.com/FORUM/showthread.php?t=1132

Sometimes I wonder, how can people fall on these scams, because scammers itself are so stupid? It must be greed for easy money..

http://www.scamorama.com/pierpont1.html

Another of my favorites, where this guy got 5g of gold from the scammer as a sample