John Fairheart
23 October 2005, 17:38
Story Here (http://www.line56.com/articles/default.asp?ArticleID=7012)
Nigeria to Outlaw Spamming
Wishful thinking in Nigeria and elsewhere
by Demir Barlas, Line56
Thursday, October 20, 2005
The Setup
Everyone on earth with an e-mail account has gotten an online solicitation from a practitioner of so-called "advance-fee fraud," known as Spanish Prisoner fraud in ages past but today associated with its Nigerian variant. Click here to find out more!
The scam, often called 419 after the article of the Nigerian constitution it violates, is usually an e-mail from someone who claims to have access to a vast sum of money that needs to be moved out of Nigeria (although, in recent times, 419 fraudsters have claimed to be Iraqi army officers, bankers hit by the World Trade Center tragedy, and other non-Nigerians).
Often, the scam victim is asked to take on a fake identity in order to help the scammer "get" the money. Here's one common scenario. The scammer is a Nigerian banker who notices that a foreign engineer has died and left $10 million in his bank (Nigerian scammers are almost always men, or represent themselves as such). The banker solicits you to pretend to be a relative of the dead engineer, at which point a portion of the money can be transferred to you as a reward.
Alternately, the scammer claims to be a relative of some dead military dictator or other important and wealthy African, and is seeking foreign assistance to transfer some secret fund belonging to the deceased out of the country.
No matter what the scenario, the catch is always the same. Along the way, you have to pay several thousands of dollars in spurious lawyer's fees, bribes, and the like -- all going into the pocket of the scammer. The psychology is simple. If you really think you can get $10 million, you'll be willing to spend a lot of money to get access to the kitty. There have been 419 cases in which the victims have paid out their entire life savings, robbed their companies to pay the scammers, or even staked their own companies on the scam.
Nigeria Acts
Now Nigeria is passing a law according to which anyone found guilty of sending spam, a presumable portion of which will be 419-related content, will face a three-year jail sentence, a fine of $3,500, or both.
This law is designed entirely for public relations purposes.
In Nigeria itself, 419 fraud is actually an important part of the economy, functioning as a livelihood (not a hobby) for thousands of practitioners, who include prominent members of the Nigerian government and business establishment. Some 419ers have made millions of dollars out of the scam, using their real connections in Nigeria to impress visiting suckers intent on seeing, for example, actual banks and other facilities connected to the scam.
Anyone who believes that Nigeria is even capable of eliminating 419 is naive at best and a simpleton at worst, but the American press is dutifully reporting the Nigerian government's resolution without even acknowledging the absurdity of the situation. 419 is such a natural part of Nigeria that to speak of abolishing it is just as nonsensical as, say, the American Midwest outlawing tornadoes, or the French government declaring that French men will no longer keep mistresses.
How can you simply legislate away deeply engrained and profitable human behavior? How can you abolish reality by decree? It is hard to believe that the Nigerian government's declaration has taken place in the real world and not in some chapter of Evelyn Waugh's Black Mischief.
No High Ground
We don't get off easily either. For every successful Nigerian scammer, there is some unscrupulous American or European idiot who wants to cooperate in the criminal gain of ill-gotten funds. 419 scammers are parasites on incompetence, stupidity, and greed, and we, their host organisms, provide them these qualities in ample and attractive amounts.
For nearly ten years now, I have been amazed by the fact that anyone intelligent enough to open a Web browser would be stupid or grasping enough to fall victim to 419. Yet there are hundreds of thousands of victims, and they have the brass to portray themselves as victims and go after their money once they finally understand what is happening to them.
Sad things on which to ponder at the close of this week.
Nigeria to Outlaw Spamming
Wishful thinking in Nigeria and elsewhere
by Demir Barlas, Line56
Thursday, October 20, 2005
The Setup
Everyone on earth with an e-mail account has gotten an online solicitation from a practitioner of so-called "advance-fee fraud," known as Spanish Prisoner fraud in ages past but today associated with its Nigerian variant. Click here to find out more!
The scam, often called 419 after the article of the Nigerian constitution it violates, is usually an e-mail from someone who claims to have access to a vast sum of money that needs to be moved out of Nigeria (although, in recent times, 419 fraudsters have claimed to be Iraqi army officers, bankers hit by the World Trade Center tragedy, and other non-Nigerians).
Often, the scam victim is asked to take on a fake identity in order to help the scammer "get" the money. Here's one common scenario. The scammer is a Nigerian banker who notices that a foreign engineer has died and left $10 million in his bank (Nigerian scammers are almost always men, or represent themselves as such). The banker solicits you to pretend to be a relative of the dead engineer, at which point a portion of the money can be transferred to you as a reward.
Alternately, the scammer claims to be a relative of some dead military dictator or other important and wealthy African, and is seeking foreign assistance to transfer some secret fund belonging to the deceased out of the country.
No matter what the scenario, the catch is always the same. Along the way, you have to pay several thousands of dollars in spurious lawyer's fees, bribes, and the like -- all going into the pocket of the scammer. The psychology is simple. If you really think you can get $10 million, you'll be willing to spend a lot of money to get access to the kitty. There have been 419 cases in which the victims have paid out their entire life savings, robbed their companies to pay the scammers, or even staked their own companies on the scam.
Nigeria Acts
Now Nigeria is passing a law according to which anyone found guilty of sending spam, a presumable portion of which will be 419-related content, will face a three-year jail sentence, a fine of $3,500, or both.
This law is designed entirely for public relations purposes.
In Nigeria itself, 419 fraud is actually an important part of the economy, functioning as a livelihood (not a hobby) for thousands of practitioners, who include prominent members of the Nigerian government and business establishment. Some 419ers have made millions of dollars out of the scam, using their real connections in Nigeria to impress visiting suckers intent on seeing, for example, actual banks and other facilities connected to the scam.
Anyone who believes that Nigeria is even capable of eliminating 419 is naive at best and a simpleton at worst, but the American press is dutifully reporting the Nigerian government's resolution without even acknowledging the absurdity of the situation. 419 is such a natural part of Nigeria that to speak of abolishing it is just as nonsensical as, say, the American Midwest outlawing tornadoes, or the French government declaring that French men will no longer keep mistresses.
How can you simply legislate away deeply engrained and profitable human behavior? How can you abolish reality by decree? It is hard to believe that the Nigerian government's declaration has taken place in the real world and not in some chapter of Evelyn Waugh's Black Mischief.
No High Ground
We don't get off easily either. For every successful Nigerian scammer, there is some unscrupulous American or European idiot who wants to cooperate in the criminal gain of ill-gotten funds. 419 scammers are parasites on incompetence, stupidity, and greed, and we, their host organisms, provide them these qualities in ample and attractive amounts.
For nearly ten years now, I have been amazed by the fact that anyone intelligent enough to open a Web browser would be stupid or grasping enough to fall victim to 419. Yet there are hundreds of thousands of victims, and they have the brass to portray themselves as victims and go after their money once they finally understand what is happening to them.
Sad things on which to ponder at the close of this week.