<nettime> Arrests of Nigerian Scammers

["nettime's roving reporter" <nettime@bbs.thing.net>]

Six arrested over 'Nigerian e-mail' fraud
Wed May 22, 2:43 PM ET

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=73&e=1&cid=73&u=/zd/20020522/tc
_zd/5108178

By Graeme Wearden, ZDNet News

Six people were arrested in South Africa over the weekend on suspicion of
being involved in the infamous "Nigerian" e-mail and letter fraud.

Four of those detained were Nigerian, one was Cameroonian and the sixth
was South African. Police in South Africa believe that the six are part of
an international fraud and drug-dealing cartel, sending out thousands of
e-mail and letters in an attempt to defraud.

Police seized a large amount of drugs, as well as computer equipment and
false identification papers. According to published reports from South
Africa, officers from the UK's Scotland Yard were also involved in the
operation. A Metropolitan police spokesman was unable to confirm this,
however.

The arrests could mark an important breakthrough in the battle against the
international scam, which is thought to have defrauded hundreds of
millions of dollars from victims. The fraud is also known as the "West
African advanced fee fraud" or the "419 fraud" -- 419 being the relevant
section of the Nigerian criminal code.

Potential victims receive a letter -- or, more recently, an e-mail --
telling them that the sender is trying to move a large sum of money and
offering them a substantial percentage of the cash in return for letting
it be deposited into their bank account.

Often the perpetrators claim that the Nigerian government is paying out
this money in return for a completed contract, while other versions claim
to involve insurance payouts after airplane crashes.

People who express an interest are then told that they must first hand
over an amount of money to cover expenses such as banking fees and
administrative costs. These "advanced fees" often cost a bundle; there are
cases where U.S. victims have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Nigerian government has set up a unit in London to fight the fraud,
but many people are still being taken in.

[....]





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