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Internet Giants Join Forces to Beat Nigerian E-Mail Scams
The Times ^ | October 26, 2009 | Mike Harvey

Posted on 10/30/2009 10:27:59 PM PDT by nickcarraway

Joe Eboh, a conman who was persuaded to prove evidence of his initiation into the Holy Church of The Painted Breast in a reverse scam Dear Honourable Friend. Those generous Nigerians who e-mail you with promises of a fortune are themselves being targeted in a new drive to deter cyber criminals.

Millions of internet users have received messages offering them a huge financial reward if they help to release money trapped in a foreign bank account. And, although the majority of these e-mails are deleted, the fraudsters still find a sufficient number of gullible Britons to cost the country millions a year.

Nigeria’s anti-corruption police have now joined forces with the world’s leading technology companies, including Microsoft, to create a system that will warn e-mail users when they are the target of a scam.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says that the operation has already shut down 800 e-mail addresses used by the criminals to send messages and has uncovered 18 fraud gangs. Farida Waziri, head of the commission, said that it would have the capacity eventually to track down 5,000 e-mail addresses used by the criminals every month and be able to warn 250,000 potential victims at a time. Ms Waziri said the aim of Operation Eagle Claw was to take Nigeria out of the Top Ten list of countries with the highest incidence of fraudulent e-mails.

Beware of false friends: fraudsters tap into Facebook Cynics will suggest that the ever-resourceful internet conmen will simply find new ways to avoid the regulators. It is probably best not to reply to a message warning that you have been targeted by a scam — particularly if it requests details of your bank account.

(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: 419; emailscam; spam

1 posted on 10/30/2009 10:27:59 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

“evidence of his initiation into the Holy Church of The Painted Breast “

What a bunch of boobs.


2 posted on 10/30/2009 10:30:44 PM PDT by turnrightnow (There was a time when being a moron was a victimless crime.)
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To: nickcarraway

Some people actually waste the time of these criminals by playing their game of making up delays and sob stories as to why they can’t send the money right away. Some of these people actually spend months talking to the conmen which shows how far they will go to make a quick buck.


3 posted on 10/30/2009 10:35:53 PM PDT by LukeL (Yasser Arafat: "I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize")
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To: nickcarraway

Ebola Monkeyman

4 posted on 10/30/2009 11:32:38 PM PDT by MarineBrat (Better dead than red!)
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To: nickcarraway

I once received a scam e-mail almost identical to the Nigerian scam but from Cote d’Ivoire and in French.


5 posted on 11/01/2009 8:56:11 AM PST by The Great RJ ("The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." M. Thatcher)
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