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The great Nigerian 419 scam

With the extensive use of the World Wide Web Netizens got to be watchful of the 419 scams

PHOTO: RANJEET KUMAR

INFO HIGHWAY The Net can serve as huge resource for information as well as act as tool for committing crimes like the 419

A couple of days ago Suresh and Ravi pure science students of Andhra University were caught in a state of flux. The bone of contention was whether they should make an overseas call or not. Though a remote thought egged them not to go ahead with the call, the contents of an e-mail that Suresh received from an unknown e-mailer was literally forcing them to push the phone buttons. Finally after much deliberation and confirming the authenticity of the mail, they dropped the idea. If only they had gone ahead with the call, they would have been sucked into the biggest Internet scam ever. This cyber crime has been named as `The Great Nigerian 419 scam' or `Advance Fee Fraud Scam' by security agencies world over. Though the scam was initially targeted at the westerners with the increasing traffic on the info highway, from this part of the world it has percolated down to this city also.

Like the seasoned fishermen who drop several lines into the water and then wait for the fish to bite the bait, a few people in Nigeria access e-mail addresses by scouring the Net and then send out lucrative missives and wait for a few gullible recipients to respond. Once they get a favourable response, the bait-gulper becomes a prospective victim for the crime they plan to commit thereafter.

What started of as a small time fraud over fax machines a decade ago is today the longest serving scam in the world and is estimated to be the third or fourth largest revenue earner in Nigeria, thanks to the Internet.

The scam begins with an e-mail that might sound like this: "I am Moses Kabila, son of the late President of Republic of Congo, Laurent Desire Kabila. I hope you will keep this communication close to your heart and would not disclose it to anybody."

A distress call from the son of a former head of state would certainly tickle the receiver and the text that follows could freeze one's index finger over the mouse: "I intend to transfer 28 million US dollars left by my late father to your account and all you got to do is to transfer it back to me to a different account in another country for which you could retain 10 to 30 per cent of the sum for your valuable service."

The story continues cementing the authenticity of the deal using various twists and turns like "my family is in danger", "I am in exile in Madrid (or some other country)", "the current dictator's henchmen are holding my mother and family members as hostage" and "you are my only saviour as told by God in my dream" and so on...

If people who on receipt of such e-mails press the delete tab, the story ends there itself. But for the little ambitious ones who would not mind to run their fingers over the calculator buttons it is just the beginning. The figures could be mind-boggling and an average person would take a few minutes to get the arithmetic right over a few gulps when converted into Indian rupees. And that's what the scamsters want, to stir an element of interest in a few susceptible individuals.

The real story begins after a person responds favourably to the bait. The perpetrators pounce on the victim with a flurry of convincing e-mails that would include duplicate and forged ID cards and documents printed on government and bank letterheads to substantiate their claim.

Once convinced that the person is psyched, they would ask for a few things like the bank account numbers, personal identification documents like licence, ID cards and personal or firm letterheads, which are later used by them to get their personal visas to US or to frame another such deal. Assuring that the money is ready for shipment within two or three days the bombshell is then dropped.

They would ask for remitting a fee varying from 2,000 to 10,000 US dollars through wire transfer in the name of taxes and advance fees or request the person to come down to Nigeria to collect the fund personally. Either way one is lost. The amount sent could never be traced and if one goes personally then his or her life is at stake.

In 1995, an American was found tortured to death and as per the Federal records another 25 are still missing linked to this 419 scam. As per the CBI records a few Indians who visited Nigeria to collect the proceeds were made to cough up even their personal belongings, and were lucky enough to return with the skin of their teeth. In changed tactics, the scamsters now invite people to countries like Spain, Netherlands and Malaysia.

This indicates that the 419 network has spread across continents and with Internet making inroads into Indian households in a big way, the Indian soil is their new testing ground.

So, the next time you receive such an e-mail, simply press the delete button and forget about it. The messages can come in any form but the bottom line would be the lure of huge money. So take care the next time you login.

SUMIT BHATTACHARJEE

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