The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Net scams get subtler

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 16, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Net scams get subtler

Special Correspondent

BANGaLORE: By now, all of us who log on to the Net are familiar with mails that promise us millions of dollars if we open an account to facilitate the grieving widow or aide of a former dictator to open a bank account in our names so that they can stash away their looted billions. Those who have let greed overtake their commonsense have found themselves sadder, wiser and poorer. Such mails usually originate in Nigeria and are known as 419 frauds.

Occasionally one hears about somebody losing a few thousands of dollars or of how a gang of fraudsters was busted.

Following bad press, the 419 mails have undergone a slight metamorphosis. So one gets a "company statement" from, say, Suriname. The said company, usually identified by a string of letters such as HGPX, announces it has acquired a similar company and the two together are buying gold in the market, according to its "chairman." The mail promises more information in the near future and signs off with "underplay is our style".

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