Begging Your Confidence in African

Begging your confidence in Africa
The syntax is tortured, maimed of grammar, but the message – sent by mail, telex, fax, or e-mail – is coherent: an African bigwig or his heirs wish to transfer the funds accumulated in the years of corruption and venality of a safe bank account in the West. To ask permission of the recipient to use their services to a discrete part of the loot – usually many millions of dollars. A fee is required to accelerate the process, or to pay taxes, or to bribe officials – is plausible to explain.

This is a scam two decades – and still works. Last month, an accountant for a Berkley, Michigan law firm embezzled $ 2.1 million in connection with several bank accounts in South Africa and Taiwan. Other victims were kidnapped against a rescue, as he traveled abroad to collect their “share”. There has never been back. Each year there are 5 such murders as well as theft from 80 to 10 U.S. citizens only. The rescue is usually half a million to one million dollars.

The scam is so widespread that the Nigerians saw fit to explicitly ban in Article 419 of the Penal Code. Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo criticized the scamers to cause “incalculable damage to Nigerian businesses” and “put the entire country under suspicion”.

“Wired” quotes statistics presented at the International Conference on the price in advance (419) Fraud in New York, September 17:

“About 1 percent of the millions of people receiving 419 emails and faxes are scams. The annual losses to the scam in the United States for more than $ 100 million, and law enforcement believe global losses may total more than $ 1.5 billion. “

According to the “IFCC Internet Fraud 2001″, published by the FBI and the National White Collar Crime, Nigerian letter fraud cases amount to 15.5 percent of all complaints. Complaint Center Internet Fraud Scams such refers to the U.S. Secret Service. While the median loss in all types of Internet fraud was $ 435 – in the Nigerian scam was the figure of 5575. But only one in ten successful crimes is reported, said the FBI report.

The IFCC provides this notice to potential targets:

Be wary of persons representing themselves as Nigerian government officials or foreigners asking for your help in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts.

Do not believe the promises of large sums of money for your cooperation.

Do not give personal information about your savings, checking, credit or other financial accounts.

If prompted, do not respond quickly and inform the competent authorities.

The “419″ Coalition is more concise and more pessimistic:

“Do not pay anything in advance for any reason.

Never extend credit for any reason.

Never do anything until your check.

NEVER expect any help from the Nigerian government.

Never trust your government to flee. ”

Office of the Narcotics Department of State for International Affairs and Law Enforcement has published a booklet entitled “Nigerian scam pay in advance” It describes the history of this type of fraud.:

“AFF criminals are university graduates who are the best in the world for nonviolent spectacular crimes. Free AFF for the first time in the 1980s when the collapse of world oil prices, Nigeria which is the main foreign exchange earner. Some Nigerians turned to crime to survive fraud schemes such as AFF succeeded in Nigeria, because Nigerian criminals took advantage of the fact that Nigerians speak English, the international language of business, and the oil wealth of the country’s vast reserves of natural gas - . The world number 13 -. offer lucrative business opportunities that attract many foreign companies and individuals “

According to the Greater London Enterprise Fraud Police Department, potential targets in the UK and the U.S. c. receive only 1,500 applications a week. The U.S. Secret Division of Economic Crimes has 100 calls a day from Americans approach by fraudsters. Now acknowledges that “Nigeria organized crime rings management fraud schemes through the lines of mail and telephone are so large, they represent a serious economic threat to the country.”

Sometimes even the stamps affixed to such letters are forged.Nigeria, postal workers are known to be in collusion with criminals. The names and addresses were obtained from “trade journals, business directories, magazine and newspaper advertisements, chambers of commerce and the Internet.”

The victims are too intimidated to complain, or reluctant to admit their complicity in money laundering and fraud. Others try in vain to recoup their losses by plowing more money into the plan.

Contrary to popular image, the scamers are often violent and engage in other criminal activities like drug trafficking, according to agency enforcement Nigeria. Late blight has spread to other countries. Letters from Sierra Leone, Ghana, Congo, Liberia, Togo, Ivory Coast, Benin, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Taiwan, or even Canada, UK, Oman and Vietnam are not uncommon.

Dodge falling into a few categories.

Scams contract involves over-invoicing of the ostensible transfer of amounts obtained through inflated invoices to the bank account of a foreign company not related. Contract fraud or “trade default” is simply a false order with a fraudulent check product export company along with the demand for “samples” and various transaction “fees and charges.”

Some of these racquet’s are dumb simple. In the “wash-wash” confidence trick people have been known to pay up to $ 200 000 for a special solution to remove stains of millions of dollars in bills disfigured. Others “bought” heavy oil “reduced” crude oil stored in “secret” places -. or real estate rezoning areas “clearing house” or “venture capital” purporting to act on behalf of the Central Bank of Nigeria launder the proceeds of fraud.

In another twist, charities, academic institutions, organizations, nonprofit groups and religious have to pay inheritance tax on a “gift.” Some “dignitaries” and their parents may try to flee the country and ask victims to advance the bribe money in exchange for a generous cut of the wealth that have gone into hiding abroad.

“Bankers” may find inactive accounts million dollars – often in lottery winnings -. Waiting to be transferred to a safe place off the coast inflated wage workers are another way to defraud allegedly false public companies – is that the sale of used cars from the finish with them for a price seems outrageous no end to criminal ingenuity ..

Lately, the correspondence is supposed to come from – often white – disinterested professional third parties. Accountants, lawyers, managers, administrators, security personnel, or bankers intended to act as fiduciaries for the real dignitary in need of help. Less gullible victims are subjected to extortion plain old verbal intimidation and harassment.

The increase in the public consciousness with greater exposure and greater international cooperation network against fraud, the wildest of the stories it generates. Letters came recently signed by dying refugees, survivors of the September 11 attacks, the U.S. command and accidental on mission in Afghanistan.

Governments around the world have adapted to protect your business. The U.S. Commerce Department, for example, publishes the “World Data Operators”, prepared by the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria “offers the following types of information:. Kinds of organizations, year founded, the principal owners, size, product range, and financial and trade references.”

Unilateral U.S. activity, effective collaboration with the Nigerian government some of which are rumored to traffic, multilateral efforts within the OECD and the Interpol, education and information campaigns – nothing seems work.

The treatment of 419 fraud sters in Nigeria is so mild that, according to the “Nigeria Tribune”, the United States threatened the country with sanctions if it does not significantly improve its record of financial crimes in November 2002. Both the U.S. Treasury fight against crime Financial Network (FinCEN) and the OECD, Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had characterized the country as “one of the worst crimes in the financial world.” The Central Bank of Nigeria is committed to grips with this debilitating problem.

Nigeria themselves – though often victims of scams – take the phenomenon in stride. The Nigerian “Daily Champion”, offered this apology on behalf of deep piety and not by 419 gangs. It is worth quoting in full:

“419 to eradicate the scourge, leaders at all levels must work hard to create employment opportunities and people perception of leaders as role models. The figure of the country of high unemployment has made a nonsense of the called democracy dividends. vast majority of young people leaving school in Nigeria, including university graduates, have no visible means of existence … The fact is that most of these young swarms can not only see our so-called leaders siphon God has given them rich. For what they have resorted to alternative means of livelihood called 419 fraud, at least that should be considered … Some of these 419ers are in the houses of the National Assembly and State Assembly, while some surrounding the President and governors across the country. “

Some swindlers seek to glorify their criminal activities of a political and historical context. The website of the “419 Coalition” contains letters casting the scam as a form of forced reparation for slavery, similar to the compensation paid by Germany to Holocaust survivors. Scammers are boast of defrauding the “white civilization” and unmasking the falsity of their claims of superiority. But a few delusional individuals aside, this is just a smokescreen.

Greed is more fear and greed of the people listed in clearly criminal enterprises. The “victims” of advance scams rarely ignorant of his alleged involvement. Knowingly and intentionally collude with self-professed criminals wool governments and institutions. This is one of the rare crimes where prey and the perpetrator may well deserve each other.