Australians still skittled by Nigerian scams

Hi . I at first couldn’t believe my eyes when I read this story. A conference was actually held on Nigerian scams in Australia. Can you imagine people gathering for the sole purpose of discussing scams?

Well, I guess you must be interested in the proceedings at the conference. here’s the news update I came across.

read on

alan

www.elovedeceptions.com

Sydney – Australians had a giggle earlier this year when lovelorn sheep farmer Des Gregor flew back to Adelaide from west Africa without his luggage, his wallet and more depressingly without the ravishing young bride he had been promised over the internet. Mirth turned to incredulity when they learned that this had been 56-year-old Gregor’s second dose of intercontinental dating dismay. He had earlier returned from Russia without the promised sweetheart and with his money gone.

Speakers at Australia’s first national conference on Nigerian fraud tried to explain the naivety of blokes like Gregor who are shipping money to West Africa at the rate of 2.5 million Australian dollars (2 million US dollars) a month.

Inspector Brian Hay, head of the Queensland Police fraud and corporate crime unit, sees the human tragedy that begins with a reply to an email that often purports to come from a God-fearing banker in Lagos anxious to find a home for millions of dollars.

“We have had people lose businesses, lose their livelihood, commit crime, try to commit suicide,” Hay said. “There are lots of people in the community new to the internet, not knowing the dangers and the threats, going on line and all of a sudden being promised an opportunity that promises the world.”

It’s not just backwoodsmen like Gregor who get fleeced.

Queensland businessman Steven Baker swallowed his pride and admitted to losing 1.3 million Australian dollars (1 million US dollars) trying to get hold of a fictitious 20-million-dollar inheritance.

He flew to Europe three times to meet bogus government officials in Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, and was even taken to a bank vault and shown a suitcase full of American dollars he was told was part of the pay-out.

“The professionalism of it is just unbelievable – the paperwork, the officials, going to government departments,” Baker said. “You would think if they were straight-out scammers they wouldn’t have access to government officials and places, and the paperwork with all the stamps.”

Hay explained that scammers play on the better part of our natures: we are naturally trusting, expect the best of people and believe that good things happen.

“Our kids grow up on legends and mythology and fairy tales,” Hay said. “We are conditioned to believe in things we can’t validate and can’t see.”

What also works in favour of the scammers is that there appears to be no victim. The money is there in the bank, the owner dead, and all that’s required is a bit of paperwork to release it and make everyone happy. There is no downside.

Hay explains that the email instantly brings a ray of hope that our dreams can come true.

“When you get emotion involved, logic goes out the window,” he said. “People get very excited. They don’t want to listen to the negatives, the bad things. They want to believe in the good things.”

Federal agents crack down on Internet scams

Hi

Here is another item from the news about internet scams. It appears after all that something is being done to clamp down on net scams.

please read the story and leave your comments.

alan

www.elovedeceptions.com

Federal agents crack down on Internet scams

05:35 PM Mountain Standard Time on Wednesday, October 3, 2007
By Bart Treece / 3 On Your Side Producer It’s one of the biggest scams around and federal agents are finally cracking down.

This scam has gone on for so long. The biggest problem is that the scammers live overseas and the victims live right here, many of them living in Arizona.

Because of the distance, it’s a little hard to crack down on these con artists. Until now, that is.

At a news conference today, federal agents say they have had enough.

Nigerian police, with the help of federal agents, raided Internet cafes in Africa.

As it turns out, the raid is part of a global crackdown on Internet scams.

Altogether, 16 people were arrested for allegedly taking part in fake check scams that target countless Americans.

In Amsterdam, 60 people were taken into custody for doing the exact same thing.

Federal and local authorities announced the crackdown at a news conference in downtown Phoenix.

“American consumers are being defrauded by overseas scam artists,” said Pete Zegarac, a U.S. postal inspector.

The crackdown, they say, actually started by sending American agents overseas to investigate.

“In a 21-day effort alone in Nigeria, postal inspectors oversaw the seizure of 15,000 fake checks,” Zegarac said.

U.S. postal inspector Keith Moore from the Phoenix office was in Nigeria for several weeks and says he saw firsthand how good these scammers are.

“We were able to determine their equipment is first class,” Moore said.

For example, that first-class equipment produces checks that look real.

After you cash it and send some of the proceeds back to the scammer, you later find out the check is fake.

The bait is usually set when you receive an e-mail.

“Two out of three adults receive a potential scam once a week, said Sally Wells with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. “I have a reliable source because my mother sends them to me about once a week.”

“These scams prey on the elderly and when English is a second language,” said Ann Harwood with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona.

Victims are lured into the scam because easy money is too hard to resist.

Another example, are foreign lotteries claiming you won money. To collect, you cash the fake check and return a portion to the scammer.

“It’s easy for law enforcement to stand up here and say, ‘You won the lottery without even entering. You must be the luckiest person on earth!’” Zegarac said.

Numerous times, law enforcement warn people about these scams and now they have a new tool for you, a Web site called fakechecks.org, which is part of a multi-agency effort to keep your money out of the hands of con artists.

“There’s a lot of feeling there that Americans have a lot of money and they want to target that,” Moore said.

“People fall for it,” Zegarac said. “It’s up to us to get the word out.”

That Web site is also the place to report these scams to law enforcement so they can track down these scammers.
 

Eight in EFCC net over internet crime

 Hi everyone.Been a while since I was around here.It’s been the usual
stuff here in Nigeria.Nothing much save for the political scandals flying
around.the leaders are just too greedy.Can you imagine the house
speaker renovating a house for $5million, when a new house costs
less than 20% of that sum? Pity that she’s Nigeria’s first female
speaker,but I think she’ll be the one with the shortest reign,cos
she’s been indicted by the probe panel.More on this later, cos it
raises serious moral questions related to scams.
Meantime, here’s this article for you to read. It’s from one of the
Sunday papers here in Nigeria.
hope you all find it interesting.
regards
alan
www.alanprince.wordpress.com
www.elovedeceptions.com

Eight in EFCC net over internet crime
Eric Ikhilae, Lagos – 23.09.2007

Although they vary in appearance, background, motive and age, a common trend currently binds them together as they reflect on their actions prior to their current detention at the Lagos facility of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
From the youngest, Sheriff Balogun, to the eldest, Kingsley Atere (46 years), their journey to the commission’s detention centre was informed by allegations that they were involved in cyber crime.
The suspects, eight in number, were arrested some days ago by operatives of the commission who had acted as undercover agents in a cyber cafe owned by Mr. Atere and allegedly caught the other seven in the act.
As gathered by Sunday Tribune, Mr. Atere’s undoing was that he allegedly provided a turf (the cyber cafe) for the other suspects to play their game of crime.
An EFCC source said the suspects’ arrest was made possible by information provided the commission via a petition alleging that Mr. Atere’s cybercafe located at 4, Wilmer Street, Awosika Bus-Stop, Isheri, Lagos, “is a shielding haven for notorious yahoo boys and other fraudsters.
“Our men were later sent there under cover and they were all arrested while sending scam letters on the internet,” he said. Those being held include Oyibo Ebuchulam, Sheriff Balogun, Okechukwu Obieshie, Abubakar Jubirl, Ikenna Ogbonanya, Isaac Onyekwere, Ebele Chukwu Dibor and Atere.
Sheriff, said to be an undergraduate was allegedly caught sending letters to his internet lovers, requesting for money from them while posing as Joel.
Okechuckwu, who claimed to be an electronic dealer, was discovered to have over 500 e-mail addresses in his inbox and to which he had allegedly sent scam mails.
Jubril on his part was found to operate a site with someone else’s picture and name to send mail demanding for dollars from the unsuspecting lovers. Ikenna, who deals in clothes, was said to have confessed going into the trade to raise funds for his business expansion plan.
Ebele was said to have been caught sending a mail to a Taiwanese firm to which he had earlier sent a business proposal for the manufacture of television antenna.
“The firm actually replied asking for specifications. This was why he went to the cafe to perfect the deal when the law caught up with him,” the source said.
However, the cafe owner, Mr. Atere, has denied allegations against him. He said he was not always at the cafe and that it was strange for him to have been accused of shielding criminals.
“It is my staff that monitors the activities in the cafe. I am hardly around. I hardly stay there,” he maintained. The commission has said it would soon arraign them in court.