www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,9988337^29677,00.html
EMAIL THIS STORY Nigeria arrests 500 suspected email scammers From AFP June 29, 2004 ABUJA: Nigeria's agency against economic and financial crime said Monday that it had detained more than 500 suspects and seized property worth more than $US500 million from suspected fraudsters. "Presently we have over 500 suspects in custody, seized assets and recovered properties worth over $US500 million with over 100 cases at various stages of prosecution," agency chairman Nuhu Ribadu told a seminar. The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) was set up by President Olusegun Obasanjo to fight economic and financial crime, especially fraudsters who operate email and mail scams known as 419 advance fee fraud -- named after the relevant section of the Nigerian criminal code. The EFCC had demonstrated its resolve and commitment by arresting many previously "untouchable 419 kingpins", said Ribadu, a former senior police intelligence officer. Although the identities of those in EFCC custody are not formally revealed, observers noted that they included legislators, lawyers, politicians, bankers and public functionaries. A legislator in the lower house of parliament, Maurice Ibekwe, arrested and charged with alleged financial crime, died recently in prison custody. Another suspect, lawyer Fred Ajudua, is currently in detention for an alleged financial crime offence. On June 3 in Maputo, Nigeria said that it planned to launch software that would help catch fraudsters who send scam letters via email. The new technology, which would identify key words used in such letters, is likely to be made available to Internet service providers and government departments, Mustafa Bello, executive secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, told a meeting on the sidelines of Africa's World Economic Forum. The email scams, often from "the widow of an African dictator" or a "bank offcial", promise untold wealth in return for helping to transfer millions of dollars out of Africa. Victims of the scam have lost tens of thousands of dollars, and in some cases been attacked and robbed. They frequently fail to report their losses to the police out of shame and because they had been planning to act illegally. South African Interpol spokeswoman Mary Martins-Engelbrecht told AFP last year that in South Africa alone some 60 cases of advance fee fraud (or 419) were reported every day. The message from the "widow" or the "official" will ask for a name, address, bank details, passport and telephone numbers and a promise that in exchange, a major cut from the deal will be received. The cash never materialises and the scammer eventually disappears into thin air. In some cases, victims are lured into a trap, kidnapped and held hostage for ransom.
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