Nigerian scam update: The crackdown continues

Last week silicon.com published a series of articles about the notorious Nigerian email fraud - know as the 419 scam - in which victims are offered a share of a vast fortune in return for allowing the money to be laundered through their bank account.

Many of you read our coverage and many of you replied with your own stories of these fraudulent emails, expressing concerns about what is being done to crack down on this crime.

Edward Venning, spokesman for The National Criminal Intelligence Service, an organisation which works on behalf of UK law enforcement agencies with a remit to investigate these kinds of scam, said: "For the past 18 months we have been receiving around 1,000 emails per week reporting these scams and we are constantly working to collate the intelligence from these emails.

"From the intelligence we have gathered from victims of this fraud we were able last year to secure 24 arrests and convictions in South Africa and 12 in the UK."

Furthermore, according to Venning, the UK is one of only two countries in the world dealing with this problem so proactively, with the other being the US through the Secret Service.

To put the problem into perspective, last year alone 150 people were victims of this fraud, according to NCIS figures. The average amount of money lost by these victims was £56,675 - a figure boosted by the fact that a couple of victims were already millionaires before being tempted by the fraudulent 'get-rich-quick scheme'.

While many of these victims will find sympathy hard to come by, Venning countered the suggestion that these scams are undeserving of lengthy, and costly investigation, explaining that the problem is far more serious than a few fools being easily parted from their money.

According to Venning, the unwitting individuals who hand over their bank details to these scammers are directly funding the trafficking of Class A drugs into Europe from Africa as well as other activities such as car crime.

And Venning believes there is still much more which needs to be done - starting with the ISPs, the main conduit nowadays for 419 correspondence. He said: "ISPs in general are adopting a 'head in the sand' attitude towards this problem."

But the victims in all this aren't only those in Europe or the US who are receiving the emails. It's likely the close association with fraud has irreparably damaged the reputation of Nigeria.

"From a business perspective this scam reflects very badly upon Nigeria as a country," said Venning, adding that the Nigerian High Commission has worked very closely with NCIS to crackdown on the handful of individuals whose actions have tarnished the country's image.

The problem is now moving further away from its roots in Nigeria as a result of the notoriety this scam has achieved. According to Venning, Nigeria has now used up its "trust capital" - meaning it is now so inextricably linked with fraud that emails from within the country are almost always regarded with suspicion. As such many of the fraudsters are decamping to South Africa.

We want you to keep on sending in your feedback to this issue. We would especially like to hear whether you believe ISPs are doing enough to publicise and prevent these scams. Email your comments to editorial@silicon.com