Nigeria - 419 Coalition 2015 News on Nigerian Scam / 419
Operations
17 DEC 2015
From The Star, a Malaysian newspaper and news media
company, sent in by Ultrascan AGI. Most of the article
is not about 419 AFF per se, but it suggests involvement
in it, and also references a 419 modus operandi towards
the end. So we thought it should be put up:
Police bust Nigerian scam syndicate
KUALA LUMPUR: Wangsa Maju police took down a Nigerian syndicate
that intercepted RM1.8mil from a Saudi Arabian businessman who
was buying cranes from a South Korean company.
The syndicate that consisted of 10 people is believed to have
been operating from within Malaysia for as long as five years
and may have targeted other high-value business transactions
among foreigners.
"Their method of hijacking a deal was simple, yet hard to detect,"
said Wangsa Maju OCPD Supt Mohd Roy Suhaimi Sarif, who said the
syndicate would create an e-mail account similar to their victim's
business partner to intercept their online discussions.
"In this case, they made an e-mail account that was the same as
the South Korean company, but they only had the .kr missing at the
back of the address. The Saudi Arabian didn't even know he was
talking to the syndicate. He didn't suspect anything."
The syndicate hijacked the e-mail thread in September and began
arranging for the victim, an oil and gas chief executive officer,
to purchase assets to the tune of RM1.8mil.
They then paid a Malaysian woman RM1,000 to register two shell
companies with the Securities Commission and to open three bank
accounts in the name of the companies. The Saudi Arabian businessman
was then directed to wire the sum into these three accounts.
"The businessman only realised he had been tricked when the real
South Korean company contacted him to ask why he had not responded
to their e-mail. He came here to lodge a police report with us on
Dec 9," Supt Mohd Roy said.
The police traced the Malaysian woman who opened the bank accounts
and arrested her and a Nigerian man at a bank branch in Sentul on
Dec 15.
The police then raided condominiums in Cyberjaya and Sri Putramas,
where they arrested nine other foreigners, effectively crippling
the international syndicate.
The syndicate members included seven Nigerian men, two Nigerian women
and a Filipino woman. The Malaysian woman was freed and would be a
witness in the court case, the police said.
"They are aged 30 to 35. They have been here between five and seven
years, and may have been running several other scams at the same time,"
he said.
In another case, Supt Mohd Roy also issued a warning about gangs that
prey on mostly expatriates with the promise of better gold and foreign
currency exchange rates.
Since October, five people have lost a total of RM2mil to these gangs.
They usually use Malaysian women to convince victims of the "special
officer" on social media.
He said victims would be offered a special exchange rate for foreign
currency or gold, and were asked to withdraw a huge sum of money before
meeting the Malaysian women in a public area.
Then the gang members would rob the victim before escaping in rented cars.
Here is the URL of the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/12/17/police-bust-nigerian-scam-syndicate-ring-sets-up-email-account-similar-to-victims-and-hijacks-busine/
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17 DEC 2015
From the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime
Commission (EFCC) website:
EFCC Arraigns Businessman for N9.5m Oil Fraud
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday,
December 17, 2015 arraigned one Oghenemi Michael Morowei, Managing
Director, Standard Allied Universal Concept, before Justice Valentine
Ashi of the High Court of the FCT, sitting in Apo, Abuja on a nine-count
charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence.
The suspect is being prosecuted for allegedly conspiring with other
members of an oil syndicate to sell a consignment of crude oil from
the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, to Bascom Energy
Limited.
One of the counts reads: "That you, Oghenemi Michael Morowei( a.k.a.
Fubara Dan Jumbo, Boma Harry, Peterson Harry and Elder Dan Jumbo) trading
under the name and style of Standard Allied Universal Concepts, George
Olotu( at large), Bowoto Sunny Ola( at large) and Engr. Abiye Jumbo
( at large) between 7th March, 2014 and 19th March, 2014 at Abuja within
the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory did
with intent to defraud obtain the sum of N8,000,000( Eight Million Naira
only) from Bascom Energy Limited under the false pretence that same was
payment for crude oil product which pretence you knew to be false."
Another count reads: "That you, Oghenemi Michael Morowei(a.k.a. Fubara
Dan Jumbo, Boma Harry, Peterson Harry and Elder Dan Jumbo) trading under
the name and style of Standard Allied Universal Concepts, George Olotu
( at large), Bowoto Sunny Ola( at large) and Engr. Abiye Jumbo( at large)
on the 11th of February, 2014 at Abuja within the jurisdiction of the
High Court of the Federal Capital Territory did with intent to defraud
obtain the sum of N1,500,000( One Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira)
from one Bascom Energy Limited under the false pretence that same was
payment for crude oil product which pretence you knew to be false."
The accused person pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they
were read to him.
Following his plea, the defence counsel, Alex Akunebu, moved the
application for bail on behalf of his client and assured the court
that he (the accused person) would not jump bail.
However, prosecution counsel, Cosmos Ugwo, urged the court to refuse
the application.
Justice Ashi however granted the accused person bail in the sum of
N50m with two sureties in like sum.
The sureties, who must be resident within the jurisdiction of the court,
must produce certified evidence of ownership of landed property and must
always produce the accused person in court in subsequent proceedings,
failing which they would be liable to pay the sum of N250m each.
The case has been adjourned to February 25, 2016 for commencement of trial.
Here is the URL of the press release, which includes a photo,
for as long as it is good:
https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/index.php/news/1603-efcc-arraigns-businessman-for-n9-5m-oil-fraud
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15 DEC 2015
From the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime
Commission (EFCC) website:
Two Docked for Internet Fraud
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday
December 15, 2015, arraigned Aigbe Joseph (alias Anthony Styler
Malan) and Dennis Igbinoba (aka David Clark, Engr. Phil Anderson,
Engr. Tim Hilton, Engr. Williams Clark) before Justice A. M Liman
of the Federal High Court, sitting in Benin, Edo State on separate
count charges bordering on Internet fraud and obtaining money by
false pretence.
Joseph and Dennis were arrested in Benin City, Edo State following
intelligence report on their involvement in internet scams. Laptop
computers and phones were recovered from their homes during a search
by EFCC operatives.
In his confessional statement, Joseph said he had been involved in
several internet fraud and collected the sum of ($50,000) Fifty Thousand
United State Dollars from one Destiny, an America citizen. He stated
further that he used part of the money to buy a Toyota Camry car,
and also rented an apartment.
Dennis, the second defendant, revealed that he chats with foreign women
on social media platforms (facebook/yahoo mail) while posing as a white
Civil Engineer resident in London.
Joseph and Dennis pleaded not guilty to the two and four counts of
fraud preferred against them, respectively.
One of the counts reads, "that you Aigbe A. Joseph, sometime between
2014 and 2015 in Benin City, Edo State within the jurisdiction of this
Honorable court did with intent to defraud attempt to obtain the sum
of Twenty Thousand Dollars from Savita Shamsunder as Anthony Styler
Malan, that the money is for your tax clearance for a construction
job in France, facts which you knew or ought to know are false and
thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) (b) and read
together with Section 9 (2) both of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other
Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and Punishable under Section 1 (3)
of the same Act:".
Justice Liman, granted the defendants bail in the sum of N1million
each and one surety in like sum. Surety must have also have landed
property within the jurisdiction of the honorable court.
The matter has adjourned to February 17 and 18, 2016 for the commencement
of trial.
Here is the URL of the press release, which includes
a photo, for as long as it is good:
https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/index.php/news/1601-two-docked-for-internet-fraud
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20 NOV 2015
From the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime
Commission (EFCC) website:
$4m Fraud: Suspect's Arraignment Moved to November 30
The arraignment of suspected fraudster, Idowu Olarenwaju, alias
Capt Anthony Abel Saramoh, has been adjourned to November 30, 2015.
Olarenwaju and his accomplice, Joe Onwudimowei, were to be arraigned
before a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State
today but could not take their plea as their counsel A.Adedipe
pleaded for time to study the twenty-two count information brought
against the accused persons by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC.
Though prosecution counsel, Gabriel Edobor prayed the court to allow
the accused person take their plea, contending that they may not be
present to take their plea if allowed to go without sureties, Justice
U.N Agomoh adjourned the matter to 30th November, 2015 for arraignment.
Olarenwaju was arrested by operatives of the EFCC for defrauding an
American Citizen of the sum of Four Million dollar ($4,000,000) through
his company, Total Intership Nigeria Limited.
The heist was earned through a phony crude oil contracts with the victim,
wiring the said amount into the account of Total Intership Nigeria Limited
ostensibly for the supply of crude oil. The bubble burst after the victim
was left clutching the air, in an exasperating wait that ended with a
petition to the EFCC.
Onwudimowei, who operates the account of Total Intership Nigeria Limited
with Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) where the proceeds of the said fake contract
was deposited, was arrested on 18th June, 2015 and upon interrogation,
fingered Idowu Olanrewaju and one Otunba Yemi Osho as the people he handed
over all monies that passed through the account.
On the 19th of June, 2015, the duo of Idowu Olanrewaju and Yemi Osho were
arrested following a dawn raid on their homes by operatives of the EFCC.
According to Onwudimowei, Olanrewaju sometime in 2010, instructed him to
withdraw the sum of Three Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N3, 500,000.00)
for Chief Yemi Osho. Osho, he claimed, in turn handed over the money to two
people sent to him by Olarenwaju.
This singular involvement of Osho was what made Olanrewaju confess to the
fraud as he had initially denied knowing Onwudimowei. When Olanrewaju was
confronted with the testimony of Osho, sources at the EFCC disclosed that
he was speechless and began to plead for mercy.
Here is the URL of the press release, which includes photos,
for as long as it is good:
https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/index.php/news/1560-4m-fraud-suspects-arraignment-moved-to-november-30
419 Coalition comment: A promising ending for Director Lamorde's
tenure and a good start for that of Director Magu.
However, we'd like to know where the stolen $4 million and/or assets
purchased with it are, and how soon significant amounts of monies will
be recovered and repatriated to the victim.
While arresting, convicting, and incarcerating 419ers is good, stripping
them of their assets, liquidating them, and repatriating monies to their
victims is also a requirement of effective counter-419 operations. It is
necessary to convince current and potential 419ers that Crime Does Not Pay.
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15 NOV 2015
From the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) website:
Internet Fraudster Bags Two Years Jail Term
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on November
15, 2015 secured the conviction of an internet fraudster, Egbeniyi
Oluwafemi( a.k.a Raymond Morrison, Mavis Mar and Markus Fred), who
was sentenced to two years imprisonment by Justice A.M Liman of
the Federal High Court, Benin, Edo State.
The convict who was first arraigned on February 5, 2013 for offences
bordering on internet scam and obtaining money by false pretense to
the tune of 200 Euros from one Rita, a German citizen, was pronounced
guilty on counts 1 and 3 of the 3-count charge and sentenced to one
year imprisonment each on both counts.
Oluwafemi was arrested on January 18, 2013 by officers of the 4
Brigade/ Sector 1, OP PULO SHIELD, Nigeria Army, and handed over to
the EFCC on January 23, 2013 for further investigation and prosecution.
One of the counts reads, “that you, Egbeniyi Oluwafemi (alias Raymond
Morrison, Mavis Mar and Markus Fred) on or about the 10th of June 2012
in Benin City, Edo State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable
Court did conspire to commit felony to wit: Obtaining Money by False
Pretense and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8(a) of
the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and
punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act”.
Here is the URL of the press release for as long
as it is good:
https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/index.php/news/1602-internet-fraudster-bags-two-years-jail-term
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12 NOV 2015
From the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime
Commission (EFCC) website:
EFCC Arraigns Man for 1500USD Fraud
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on
November 12, 2015 arraigned one Emmanuel Eromosele (alias
Bryan Perry) before Justice P.I. Ajoku of the Federal
High Court sitting in Benin on a 3-Count charge bordering
on fraud to the tune of One Thousand, Five Hundred United
States Dollars (1500 USD).
Eromosele allegedly defrauded one James Sindelar in the
United Kingdom through Western Union Money Transfer of the
said sum while answering the name Bryan Perry and parading
himself as a barrister, waiting to be conferred with a
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN.
The accused person, allegedly sent fraudulent messages to inbox
folder of the victim, "I Need Your Help" and to other unsuspecting
foreign nationals seeking help and promising unfulfilled agreement
for personal benefits before the law caught up with him.
Count one reads:
"That you Emmanuel Eromosele and others at large on or before the
20th of July 2015 in Benin City, Edo State within the Jurisdiction
of this Honourable Court, with intent did conspired to commit felony
to wit: Obtain Money by False Pretence and Thereby committed an
Offence contrary to Section 8 (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and
Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3)
of the same Act".
Another count reads:
"That you Emmanuel Eromosele Akhalu ( alias Bryan Perry ) and
others now at large on or about the 20th of July 2015 in Benin
City, Edo State within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court,
did obtained the sum of 1500 U.S Dollars from James Sindelar 'm'
in the United Kingdom through Western Union Money Transfer under
the false pretence that you are a Barrister soon to be conferred
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), a pretext you knew to be false
and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 1 (1) (a)
of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act
2006 and punishable under section 1 (3) of the same Act".
In view of his plea, counsel to EFCC, Ramiah Ikhanaede asked the
court to fix a date for trial to commence and urged the court to
remand the accused in prison custody.
However, the defense counsel, Charity Mguobarueghian prayed the court
to admit the accused person to bail adding that, the alleged offence
is bail able.
Justice Ajoku adjourned to January 27, 2016 for the hearing of bail
application and ordered the accused person to be remanded in prison
custody.
Here is the URL of the article, which includes a photo,
for as long as it is good:
https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/index.php/news/1551-efcc-arraigns-man-for-1500usd-fraud
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10 NOV 2015
From Elombah.com an excellent online Nigerian
news and commentary site:
Meet the new EFCC Chairman, the man Ibrahim Magu
Ibrahim Magu, an assistant commissioner of police, was one
of the early recruits into the anti-graft agency by its pioneer
chairman Malam Nuhu Ribadu.
His most recent assignment was as member of the committee set
up by the Buhari administration to probe the procurement of arms
in the Armed Forces from 2007 to date.
Because of his perceived incorruptible posture, he was made the
head of the sensitive Economic Governance Unit (EGU), which handles
investigations of senior public officials.
As head of the EGU, some of the investigations he spearheaded
included the alleged involvement of Senate President Bukola Saraki
in the collapse of Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria.
He also played a role in the investigation and eventual jailing
of former managing director, the Bank of the North, Shettima Mohammed
Bulama, said to be his own brother-in-law
His other role involved James Ibori, former Governor of Delta State,
who is serving jail term in United Kingdom for money laundering.
He also played a role in the investigation and eventual jailing
of former managing director of the Bank of the North, Shettima
Mohammed Bulama, said to be his own brother-in-law.
After Ribadu was removed in controversial circumstance by former
President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, Magu was also targeted for redeployment.
Farida Waziri, who took over in 2008, was said to be uncomfortable
with his presence over issues surrounding loyalty.
Magu's troubles peaked when he was accused of illegally keeping
case files of top politicians being investigated by the commission
in August 2008.
His house in Abuja was searched and his property, including a laptop
computer with sensitive files, was carted away by officials of the EFCC
at the behest of Mrs. Waziri.
Redeployed to the police after days of detention with nothing incriminating
found against him, Magu was later suspended from the force, without salaries
for several months.
But Magu was brought back to EFCC by Lamorde after he was confirmed as
substantive EFCC boss in 2012.
Here is the URL of the article, which also includes a photo
of Ibrahim Magu, for as long as it is good:
http://elombah.com/index.php/reports/2350-meet-the-new-efcc-chairman-the-man-ibrahim-magu
419 Coalition Note: 419 Coalition would like to thank Mr. Lamorde,
the outgoing Director of the EFCC for his many years of service. He
worked with us on several cases, including the famous Ghasemi case,
and we appreciated his assistance in those, and other, matters.
We would also appreciate it if the incoming Director, Mr. Magu, redoubles
EFCC counter-419 efforts, especially in the area of recovery and repatriation
of 419ed funds to the victims of the crime.
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22 OCT 2015
From 680 NEWS, a Toronto, Canada radio station,
sent in by Ultrascan AGI:
Toronto widow out $600K in romance scam, police charge
A 63-year-old Toronto widow was involved in a "romance scam"
in 2014 where she was allegedly defrauded of $609,000, police
said on Thursday.
Toronto police said their investigation centres around the woman,
who believed she was in a relationship with someone she met on a
dating website.
"She was informed there was an emergency in some form and assistance
was needed," said Toronto Detective Constable Mike Kelly. "In general
there is some form of difficulty in being together ... a form of crisis."
She was encouraged to pass along money on a false pretence, police
allege.
The woman met the man face-to-face, gave him money in the form of
cash and also wired money to him from March to June 2014.
Police said she was in a vulnerable state and that most people
targeted are lonely.
"[The] woman was involved with a fictional character who doesn't
exist," said police.
The man identified himself under the alias of Martin Acker or Martins
Acker Jr., and claimed to be a representative of the United Nations.
He had had a forged UN identification that dated as far back as 2011.
Akohomen Ighedoise, 41, forged United Nations identification. Police
believe there may be other victims.
Police said that the woman went to police with the assistance of
her family.
"The net effect of this was economically devastating to her," Kelly
said. "We visited her shortly in the wintertime at her home and the
heat was barely on, she was wearing mittens and a hat inside her home."
Kelly said that when someone asks to "send money but keep it real
quiet," that it should be a sign that something is wrong.
"These situations ... they are occurring in the city on a regular
occurrence," he said.
Toronto investigators are working with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and United States Postal Inspection Service on
this investigation.
Kelly said there is not one specific plotline, but that the point
is always the same: to get the victim to pass them money. And it
can be done through a romance scam or lottery scam.
Police have linked the accused to a group called the Neo Black
movement and believe others are involved.
The Neo Black movement, also known as The Black Axe, have intimidated
and exerted influence on Nigerian people within the Greater Toronto Area.
"This is a very secretive organization," said Detective Constable
Tim Tortter.
He added that the group is involved in a wide breadth of crimes
including street-level violence and fraud, and that "beating" and
"weapons" were used for intimidation in Toronto.
Akohomen Ighedoise, 41, of Toronto has been charged with laundering
the proceeds of crime, fraud over $5,000 and participating in a criminal
organization. Police said he is a member of the Neo-Black Movement
and he was known as the bookkeeper.
Ikechukwu Amadi, 34, of Mississauga and Lineo Molefe, 31 of Toronto
were arrested and charged in relation to the romance scam with laundering
the proceeds of crime and fraud over $5,000.
The FBI indicted six people involved in wire fraud and money laundering
conspiracy, of those six was Ighedoise and Amadi.
Detective Sgt. Ian Nichol said these offences are committed over the
internet and because of this, borders are meaningless to law enforcements.
Police are asking people to stay in close contact with loved ones,
especially if they are lonely or vulnerable.
Anyone with information is being asked to contact police.
Here is the URL of the article, which contains
a photo and a video clip, for as long as it is good:
http://www.680news.com/2015/10/22/toronto-widow-falls-prey-to-romance-scam-gives-away-600k-allege-police/
Here are additional URLs covering this story,
courtesy of Ultrascan AGI:
http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2015/10/22/police-fbi-reveal-details-of-65b-money-laundering.html
http://www.torontosun.com/2015/10/22/toronto-romance-scam-linked-to-global-fraud-case
http://globalnews.ca/news/2292177/toronto-police-to-provide-update-on-5-billion-money-laundering-case/
http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/toronto-romance-scam-linked-to-5-billion-fbi-fraud-investigation-1.2622093
http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story/5973750-toronto-police-charge-three-men-in-connection-with-defrauding-woman-in-romance-scam/
http://www.mississauga.com/news-story/5973365-video-mississauga-man-among-three-charged-in-money-laundering-romance-scam-and-5-billion-wire-fr/
http://www.citynews.ca/2015/10/22/three-arrested-in-fraud-scheme-with-ties-to-violent-nigerian-group-police/
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16 OCT 2015
From the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission website:
$330,000 Scam: Court Resumes Trial of Maurice Ibekwe's Accomplice
Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of the Lagos High Court, sitting in Ikeja,
has begun proceedings into the trial of Chief Augunos Okoro, an
accomplice of late Morris Ibekwe, implicated in a $330,000( Three
Hundred And Thirty Thousand United States Dollars) and DM75,000
(Seventy Five Thousand Deutschmark) scam.
Okoro, owner of Yolk Hotel in Ire-Akari Estate, Isolo, Lagos,
allegedly connived with late Ibekwe to defraud a German, Mr Klaus
Munch, in 1992. Pretending to be an official of the Central Bank
of Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Finance, Transport and Aviation,
he lured Munch into a fictitious contract of supply of hard and
software equipment for a phony Abuja International Airport.
Okoro put the value of the contract at $300 million and demanded
for a percentage of the contract amounting to $330,000, which was
paid by Munch. Trial of the case commenced in 2003 before Justice
J.O Oyewole of the Lagos High Court, but suffered several adjournments
till the recent elevation of justice Oyewole to the Court of Appeal.
The case was thereafter reassigned to Justice Ipaye who has now
resumed sitting over it.
At the resumed trial of the matter on Thursday, October 15, prosecution
counsel, Adeniyi Adebisi told the court that he was ready with his
witnesses but Justice Ipaye adjourned proceedings to November 24 and 26,
2015.
Okoro is facing a 38- count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining
money by false presence; forgery and uttering.
Here is the URL of the press release, which includes a photo,
for as long as it is good:
https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/index.php/news/1511-330-000-scam-court-resumes-trial-of-maurice-ibekwe-s-accomplice
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14 OCT 2015
From the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) website:
EFCC Arraigns Impostor for N10m Scam
A suspected fraudster and member of a syndicate, Edward Abiodun,
was on Wednesday, October 14, 2015 arraigned by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, before Justice Beatrice Iliya
of Gombe State High Court, Gombe, Gombe on a two-count charge
bordering on conspiracy, impersonation and obtaining money by
false pretense.
The accused person and his accomplices, Murtala Bello and Esther
Momoh( who are now at large), had allegedly claimed to be staff
members of the EFCC, Abuja office, in order to dupe one Umar Bello.
The complainant alleged that Bello had, on March 13, 2015, phoned him,
assuring him that the syndicate could 'kill' the purported petition
written against him, if he could pay the sum of N10 million( Ten
Million Naira).
Consequently, Bello was said to have sent the phone number of Momoh
who claimed to be a Principal Detective Superintendent, PDS, with EFCC
to the victim for further discussion on how the money could be paid
to them.
The complainant also alleged that the suspects offered to collect
N300,000(Three Hundred Thousand Naira) from him when he could not raise
the initial N10million (Ten Million Naira).
He further said that one 'Laolu Adegbite', who claimed to be the
officer handling his purported case, sent an SMS to him on March
19, 2015, summoning him to appear before the Commission on March
23, 2015.
According to him, owing to the persistent threat by members of the
syndicate, he paid the sum of N50,000(Fifty Thousand Naira) into
Abiodun's Diamond bank account number: 0044213102, which was sent
to him by Momoh on March 25, 2015.
Worried by the persistent threat from the syndicate over the balance
of N250,000(Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira), the victim petitioned
the EFCC, which swung into action and eventually arrested the accused person.
Count two of the charge reads: "That you, Edward Abiodun and Murtala Bello,
Esther Momoh, (now at large) sometimes in March, 2015 at Gombe, Gombe State
which is within jurisdiction of this Honorable Court with the intent to
defraud did fraudulently obtained the sum of Fifty Thousand Naira (N50000.00)
only from one Umar Bello through your Diamond bank Account number 0044213102
which sum you collected under a false pretence. The said sum is to be used
to facilitate his investigation at Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC), Abuja and you never did, thereby you committed an offence contrary
to section 1(1) and (b) and punishable under section 1(3) of the Advance
Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006."
The accused person pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to him.
In view of his plea, the prosecution counsel, Zarami Muhammad, asked
for a trial date and prayed the court to remand the accused person
in prison custody.
The defense counsel, Micheal Ofoma, did not oppose the prayer for
a trial date by the prosecution counsel.
After listening to both counsel, Justice Iliya adjourned the matter
to October 26, 2015 for hearing of bail application and ordered
that the accused person be remanded in prison custody.
Here is the URL of the article, which includes a photo,
for as long as it is good:
https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/index.php/news/1510-efcc-arraigns-impostor-for-n10m-scam
***********************************************
12 OCT 2015
From the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) website:
EFCC to Arraign Suspected Fraudster for $267,000 Scam
A suspected internet fraudster, Akintunde Vincent Abiodun, has
been quizzed by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, for allegedly defrauding a New Zealand woman
the sum of $267,000 (Two Hundred and Sixty Seven Thousand New
Zealand Dollars Only).
Akintunde, a 37-year-old HND holder from Federal Polytechnic Auchi,
Edo State, is said to have defrauded the victim of the said amount
by claiming to be Christopher Williams from United Kingdom.
According to the complainant, she met Akintunde in a dating site on
the internet and allegedly fell in love with him. She said Akintunde
started collecting money from her after he claimed to be in possession
of gemstone worth $18,050,000 (Eighteen Million and Fifty Thousand
Dollars ), which he purportedly inherited from his father.
She further said, Akintunde hoodwinked her into believing that he
was coming to New Zealand to settle down with her.
She alleged that the money she sent to the suspect were received
in Malaysia and Nigeria by persons bearing Norisha, Jalan Klan,
and Mohammed Haizam Bin Fauzin. All of them claimed to be friends
of Akintunde.
The suspect will be arraigned in court as soon as investigation
is completed.
Here is the URL of the new release, which includes a photo,
for as long as it is good:
https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/index.php/news/1499-efcc-to-arraign-suspected-fraudster-for-267-000-scam
********************************************
8 OCT 2015
From the Premium Times, a Nigerian newspaper:
U.S. indicts 9 Nigerians Over Online Romance Fraud
by Adebayo Hassan
A United States federal grand jury in the district of Maryland
has indicted nine Nigerians over allegations that they conspired
to defraud elderly victims of millions of dollars.
The Nigerians are accused of engaging in fraudulent online
romantic relationships and risk 20 years in jail, a statement
by the U.S. Department of Justice said.
According to the statement, the accused are Gbenga Ogundele, Mukhtar
Haruna, Victor Oloyede, Olusegun Ogunseye, Babatunde Popoola, Adeyinka
Awolaja, Mojisola Popoola, Olusola Ola, Victor Oloyede and Olufemi
Williams.
Except Mr. Haruna who is based in Lagos, Nigeria, others live in
the US are all aged over 40, apart from Mr. William who is 26.
While the statement said only Mr. Haruna was yet to be arrested,
it confirmed the arrests of the remaining alleged internet fraudsters
on September 30, same day they appeared before a federal court in
Greenbelt and Illinois.
Their indictment, announced by United States Attorney for the
District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge
Kevin Perkins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has 10-count
charges of crimes, allegedly committed between January 2011 and
May 18, 2015.
They were accused of searching "online dating websites to initiate
romantic relationships with elderly male and female individuals."
"They phoned, emailed, texted and used internet chat messenger
services to form romantic relationships with the victims, who
lived in Maryland and around the country," the Department of
Justice said.
The indictment further alleged that the accused used a number
of false stories and promises to convince the victims to provide
money to the conspirators, including fake hospital bills, plane
trips to visit the victims, problems with overseas businesses
and foreign taxes.
The conspirators allegedly opened bank accounts in order to
receive millions of dollars from the victims.
The indictment also alleged numerous deposits from several victims
into bank accounts controlled by the defendants, or checks received
from the victims, ranging in individual amounts from $1,720 to $30,000.
"All of the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison
for conspiring to commit wire fraud, and for conspiring to commit money
laundering," the Justice Department said.
Additionally, it said that, "all of the defendants except for Mojisola
Popoola face a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison to be
served consecutive to any other sentence for aggravated identity theft,
arising from the alleged use of a victim's name, bank account number
or driver's license in furtherance of the fraud scheme."
"An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by
indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at
some later criminal proceedings."
The indictment and arraignment of Nigerians, the Justice Department
said, "is part of the efforts undertaken in connection with the
President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force".
With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices, and
state and local partners, the task force was established to "wage an
aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and
prosecute financial crimes".
Here is the URL of the article for as long as
it is good:
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/191241-u-s-indicts-9-nigerians-over-online-romance-fraud.html
*****************************************
29 SEP 2015
We happened to catch a new episode of the Dr. Phil
Show (a US talk/help show) today, that concerned
Romance 419 at a high level, which was quite good.
It was titled "My Mom is Worth Millions - is her
Husband a Catch or "Catfish?"" An online seach
should turn up info on the show, and it will likely
also be available on services like Hulu, Netflix, etc.
******************************
23 SEP 2015
From the Nigerian government Economic and
Financial Crime Commission site (EFCC):
EFCC Arraigns Man for N4.5m Love Scam
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on September 21,
2015 arraigned one Amadi Jude before Justice Emmanuel Obile of the
Federal High Court Calabar, Cross River State on a 12-count charge
bordering on obtaining money by false pretence.
Amadi who goes by different pseudo names – Richard Smith, Mike Anderson,
Richard Darwin, Jackson Miller, and Morgan Abela, is alleged to have
collected N4,544,000 from a Swedish national, and promised to marry her.
Count one reads: "That you, Amadi Jude Junior (alias Richard Smith,
Mike Anderson, Richard Darwin, Jackson Miller, Morgan Abela) 'm', John
Ikechukwu Efughi (at large), and Farouk (at large), between May 2014 and
January 2015 in Calabar, Cross River State, within the jurisdiction of
this honourable court did conspire among yourselves to commit felony
with it: obtaining money by false pretence and thereby committed an
offence contrary to section 8 (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other
Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under section 1 (3)
of the same act."
The accused person pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Justice Obile, adjourned till October 12, 2015 and ordered the
accused person be remanded in prison custody.
Here is the URL of the news release, which contains
a photo, for as long as it is good:
https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/index.php/news/1486-efcc-arraigns-man-for-n4-5m-love-scam
*********************************
14 SEP 2015
From BellaNaija.com, a Nigerian oriented website.
While this is not a strictly 419 new item, we feel
that this will affect the 419ers as well as the
grafters, embezzlers, etc. Therefore we decided
that the article should be posted here, as anything
that makes things more difficult for the 419ers is
fine by 419 Coalition, of course. Here is the article:
BellaNaija can confirm that banks around the world have
commenced closing accounts held by Nigerians.
If you may recall, in May 2015, news filtered through social
media that accounts of Nigerians in the UAE specifically in
Dubai had been closed.
At the time, no official reason was given, however sources
at the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) disclosed
that this was as a result of Dubai’s efforts to curb money
laundering.
A growing Nigerians with accounts in the United Kingdom, United
States and Canada have reported their accounts being closed without
any clear explanation from the banks. Many have received letters
stating that the banks have decided to close their accounts as
they reserve the right to do so based on bank/client agreements.
Letter packages have included cheques amounting to the closing
balance and/or instructions on how to retrieve their cash.
While there is no clear and official reason for this exercise,
sources have revealed that this is as a result of ongoing anti-money
laundering discussions between the Nigeria’s Buhari-led government
and their international counterparts.
In addition, countries around the world are clamping down on banks
which aid money laundering by imposing huge fines and penalties.
Therefore, the banks are working overtime to "clean up their acts".
In June 2015, it was revealed that HSBC paid over $43million in
Geneva to settle a money laundering case.
Please note that based on information received so far, while no
clear pattern for account closing selection has been revealed;
Affected parties have excluded those who have a clear and defined
source of the funds in the account. For example, work permit holders
with salaries remitted into their accounts or current students with
fees and reasonable pocket money paid into their accounts have not
been affected so far.
However, Nigerians who transfer money from their Nigerian accounts
to foreign accounts, students with unexplained large balances and
Nigerians who made cash deposits into their accounts abroad have
been affected so far.
BN will keep you updated on developments. If you have a foreign account,
we encourage you to check the status as soon as possible and continue
to monitor your accounts as this is an ongoing exercise.
Here is the URL of the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.bellanaija.com/2015/09/14/exclusive-banks-around-the-world-begin-closing-nigerians-accounts/
***********************************
3 SEP 2015
From the Vanguard, a Nigerian newspaper:
How Nigerian conmen lived large in London
Two London-based Nigerian conmen, Godwin Nwaofor and Frank
Onyechonam involved in defrauding mainly American pensioners,
informing them they had won the Australian Lottery, through
bogus letters, have met their waterloo.
Daily Mail reports that Nwaofor who had cheated pensioners
out of £5m life savings had a 'suckers list' of target victims
to send his bogus letters to. The letters were sent by a 'lottery
agent' targeting mainly American pensioners, informing them they
had won a life-changing prize and demanding 'activation fees'
to release their cash.
He received around UK pounds 1 million from the scam and blew
the money on luxury cars, gold jewellery and expensive champagne
at top nightclubs in London.
However, Nwaofor helped Onyechonam, who was nicknamed 'Fizzy'
for his love of vintage champagne and jailed for eight years
last year, after he was exposed as the chief player in the scam.
Judge Richard Hone QC however, today, had little sympathy for
Nwaofor, who broke down in tears at Central Criminal Court as
he was jailed for seven years.
The Judge said the evidence in the case, at Central Criminal
Court, against Nwaofor was 'overwhelming' and showed him to be
a proven liar.
"You have a tendency to be dishonest in your dealings with landlords,
agencies, the police, HMRC, and car hire firms. You also moved addresses
regularly to ensure your whereabouts remained a mystery," he said.
Nwaofor moved to the UK in January 2006 from Nigeria and soon married
a German citizen. He has two children with her, aged six and six-months-old.
Nwaofor lived in Camberell Green, South London.
One victim, a 76-year-old woman, who believed she had won $1.85m, tried
to track down Nwaofor after the FBI told her she had fallen victim to
a scam.
She flew to the UK and went to the address she had for Nwaofor, but
found that he had already moved on to another address.
Nwaofor, found guilty of conspiracy to defraud, converting criminal
property, and acquisition of criminal property, will serve half his
sentence in prison and the remaining part on licence. He will also
now face confiscation proceeds.
Onyeachonam's opulence
However, Police identified 406 victims from two notebooks found at
Onyeachonam's Canary Wharf penthouse, in London when he was arrested.
They seized Louis Vuitton shoes, Gucci handbags, a collection of
expensive watches and dozens of designer shoes, as well as 5,000
pictures of Onyeachonam flaunting his wealth at exclusive upmarket
venues including the Guvnor Bar in Docklands, east London.
Onyeachonam, of Canning Town, east London, was found guilty of
conspiracy to defraud between January 2005 and December 2012.
There was also evidence of extensive communication with Lagos
resident, Ese Orogun, nicknamed the 'chairman', who is thought
to be the global mastermind of the fraud.
Orogun reportedly lives in a private gated community, and is
a 'celebrity' in the Nigerian capital and drives multiple supercars,
including a Maserati and a Porsche.
Detectives fear the scale of the fraud could even mushroom to
UK Pounds 30 million if all the details discovered in notebooks
and emails can be traced to victims.
Here is the URL of the article, which includes several
photos, for as long as it is good:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/09/how-nigerian-conmen-lived-large-in-london/
*************************************
2 SEP 2015
From the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime
Commission (EFCC) website:
EFCC Returns 10,540 Euros to Polish Victim of Love Scam
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has recovered
and returned the sum of 10,540 Euros to a polish victim of Internet
love scam.The victim, simply identified as Jamina, was allegedly
duped 40,000 Euros by the suspect, Gabriel Oseremen Xavi who
operates a fake Facebook account with the name, Collins Page.
The suspect was traced to Benin City, Edo State, where he was arrested
by EFCC operatives following a petition by the victim.
Speaking on Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at the Belgium Embassy, Abuja
during the presentation of the sum of 10,540 Euro recovered from the
suspected Internet fraudster, Ibrahim Lamorde, Chairman of EFCC, charged
Western diplomats to sensitize their citizens against Internet love scam.
Lamorde, who also urged them to focus more on lonely elderly people
who have been found to be easy prey, added that "All the assets acquired
by the suspect from the proceeds of the crime will be disposed off at
the conclusion of trial, and the money returned to the victim."
The high point of the occasion was the presentation of the money to
the Belgian Ambassador, Mr. Stephane De Loecker and his Polish
counterpart, Mr. Andrzej Dycha, by Lamorde.
Expressing his gratitude, De Loecker, thanked the Nigerian government
as well as the EFCC for what he described as 'its commitment to curbing
Internet scams' He remarked that it was his first time of witnessing
the restitution of a victim of scam by any law enforcement agency and
urged the EFCC not to rest on her oars.
The envoy assured that the Belgian government would carry out rigorous
campaigns to sensitize its citizens on the dangers of love scam.
In his remarks, Dycha, who also expressed his gratitude, extended
invitation to the EFCC to be part of the meeting of association of
EU Consuls to further “advise and sensitize them on Internet scam.”
The presentation was witnessed by the Deputy Head of Mission, Belgian
Consulate, Veronique Bernad; Polish Consul, Jakub Budohoski, and
EFCC officials.
Here is the URL of the press release. for as long
as it is good:
https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/index.php/news/1468-efcc-returns-10-540-euros-to-polish-victim-of-love-scam
419 Coalition comment: This is the kind of news that we love
to report. However, we wonder where the remaining 30,000 Euros
are, and when they will be recovered and repatriated to the victim.
If EFCC wants to make a believer out of us in terms of its effectiveness
in recovery and repatriation of 419ed monies, a good first step would
be to recover and repatriate the roughly $2 million in restitution ordered
by the Court in the famous, decade old, Odiawa case. That will get our
attention - and that of the counter-419 community as a whole - for sure.
***************************************
1 SEP 2015
From the Times of India:
3 Nigerians among six held in Hyderabad for cheating 2 men
HYDERABAD: Central Crime Station (CCS) sleuths have arrested six persons,
including three Nigerians, who duped two city-based businessmen to the
tune of Rs 3.6 lakh by luring them with an offer to invest $ 1 lakh in
hotel business in the city.
Police have arrested Samadan Laxman Mali, 21, Rahul Dilip Kharde, 25,
from Dombivli, Thane, Mahesh Damodar Rajput, 36, of Thane East, three
Nigerians from Mumbai, Onuoha Nnanna Francis, 34, Valentine O Anumaka,
28, and Eze Victor, 35.
On August 28, one Raju Jembiya, 24, a businessman from Parsigutta,
lodged a complaint with the CCS sleuths alleging that he and his
friend C Sadashiva were duped by one Terry Joseph of Nigeria along
with his associates to the tune of Rs 3.6 lakh.
"Terry Joseph, who by posing as a restaurant owner in Nigeria, befriended
Sadashiva six months ago over Facebook and then expressed his willingness
to invest Rs 1 lakh US dollars in restaurant business in India. When Sadashiva
agreed to join the business venture of Terry, the latter responded saying
that he had sent a box to India with 1 lakh US dollars and told Sadashiva
to collect it in June, 2015," CCS joint commissioner T Prabhakar Rao said.
Later, one Daniel called Sadashiva introducing himself as the custodian
of the cash parcel in Mumbai and asked him to deposit Rs 1.6 lakh as
customs clearance charges in various bank accounts given by him. After
making the payment, Sadashiva went to Mumbai to receive the box and,
on the directions of Terry, he met one agent Mahesh Damodar Rajput,
who collected Rs 2 lakh cash from him to hand over the box and then
switched off his phone. Subsequently, the victims lodged a complaint
with police and a special team of the CCS went to Thane by tracking
beneficiary bank account details and cell phone details of the culprits.
With the help of the Thane police, the CCS team arrested the six accused
from various places in Mumbai on Tuesday and brought them to the city on
a PT warrant on Monday. The arrested were remanded in judicial custody,
but the main accused Terry was yet to be nabbed.
Here is the URL of the article for as long as it is good
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/3-Nigerians-among-six-held-in-Hyderabad-for-cheating-2-men/articleshow/48752538.cms
****************************************
15 AUG 2015
From the Washington Post blog section, sent in by Ultrascan AGI,
and with some comments by 419 Coalition folowing the article:
Wow! This Nigerian prince would like to wire you 75 million dollars!!
By Timothy S. Rich
You've received these e-mails. Someone (Nigerian, British, South
African, Libyan) wants to wire you an absurd sum of money. The writer,
who is almost illiterate, urges you to please get in touch immediately.
The security world knows this as the advanced fee fraud (AFF) e-mail
scam. It goes by many names but may be most commonly known as the Nigerian
or 419 scam; the number refers to an item in Nigeria's penal code. E-mails
of this type offer riches that are purportedly parked in foreign banks, if
you will just help the author get that money out of his or her country.
If you reply, the scammer will demand various fees; the scam ends only when
you are unwilling to pay any more.
Hard though it may be to believe, as much as $10 billion is lost annually
to this scam. Over the past four years, I have researched the phenomenon
and uncovered six things that few people know about it.
1. The scam predates the Internet.
Although similar scams appear as early as the 16th century, the modern
AFF scam has its roots in the late 1970s and early 1980s when its
perpetrators utilized physical mail. Nigerian scammers used stolen or
counterfeit letterhead to target mainly American and British businesses.
2. This isn't small-time crime. It's big business.
The e-mails may suggest small-time scammers, but Nigeria's Interpol believes
that those who write them are more likely to be professionals working as part
of an organized hierarchy, not unlike other forms of organized crime. Many
scam networks are organized along ethnic or linguistic lines, especially in
Nigeria. That makes it easier to coordinate efforts and harder to operate
these scams solo.
Furthermore, while the basic contours of the e-mails seldom change, evidence
suggests that scammers are increasingly testing variations to identify which
receive a higher response rate. For example, appeals to religion and references
to recent religious conversions are often deliberately included.
3. The e-mails may be intentionally unbelievable.
These e-mails become profitable at an incredibly low response rate: Most
estimates suggest that the scam needs a response rate of less than one-tenth
of 1 percent to be profitable.
You have probably read the offers and wondered who could possibly fall for
the stories they peddle. The scammers themselves likely know this, too.
Cormac Herley of Microsoft Research suggests that these are not blanket
appeals. Rather, they are attempts to quickly identify the gullible. Similarly,
the poorly constructed English narrative attempts to encourage pity and a sense
of adventure.
The large monetary offers are also a way to target the naïve. I collected
more than a half-million AFF e-mails from www.419scam.org, a site dedicated
to online-scam prevention. Through content analysis software, I found that
nearly two-thirds (64.2 percent) made offers in the millions and 1.8 percent
in the billions.
4. It’s not just in Nigeria.
Although the scam is primarily associated with Nigeria, perpetrators have been
found throughout West Africa, Hong Kong and Western Europe. Early letters were
almost exclusively in English, but increasingly scammers have been sending e-mails
in Spanish, Portuguese and French, among other languages.
Nor do most of the e-mails claim to be from Nigeria. After analyzing more than
a half-million of them, I found that only 12.6 percent mentioned Nigeria. Another
43.6 percent mentioned other African countries, and 36.2 percent mentioned European
countries. Even if most AFF scams originate in West Africa, which is debatable,
scammers appear to be diversifying their stated country of origin.
5. The scam intentionally uses trust language.
The scam e-mails commonly appeal to both trust and greed, which separates them
from spam that tries to lure the unwary through a misleading Web design. The AFF
email narrative, rather, works to build a sense of a mutual relationship, including
references to trusting the recipient and suggesting that the sender is taking a
significant risk.
In my analysis, a clear majority of e-mails (60.9 percent) included references
to trust, using such words as “trust,” “trusting,” “confide.” Interestingly,
the higher the monetary offer, the more trust language is used. “Trust” words
were in 68.1 percent of those e-mails that mentioned thousands of dollars; trust
language appeared in fully 85.3 percent of the billion-dollar offers. Meanwhile,
60.6 percent of e-mails with lower or no monetary offers did not include a single
reference to trust.
6. Variation in the e-mails influences perceptions.
I designed an experimental Web survey to identify whether variations in the text
of scam e-mails influenced perceptions. Within this survey, American respondents
were randomly assigned one of four scam letter templates that differed in one
of two ways: the monetary offer of the scammer ($3 million vs. $30 million) and
the use of trust language (no references vs. eight references to trust).
Using trust language did not increase the number of respondents who said they
believed the author could be trusted. However, those who received trust-laden
e-mails were slightly more likely to say that they would respond to such an
offer and that they saw no harm in responding to such an e-mail.
Using trust language also meant that those who read the e-mails were less
likely to remember how much money was offered, as I found using statistical
models. In other words, trust language seemed to distract the recipients from
paying attention to the monetary offer.
Overall, scammers may be better off with generic blanket appeals without the
trust language and attempting to nab only the most gullible.
How can we prevent those gullible people from sending money and bank account
information to strangers? Public education does not appear to be a useful
approach. Here’s what will probably be more fruitful: using content analysis
software to construct better spam filters, filters that pay less attention
not just to what country the e-mail came from and instead focus on the many
references to trust.
Timothy S. Rich is an assistant professor of political science at Western
Kentucky University.
Here is the URL of the article, which includes several live links,
for as long as it is good:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2015/08/25/this-nigerian-prince-would-like-to-wire-you-75-million-dollars/
419 Coalition comments: We want to remind readers that 419 Advance
Fee Fraud is a Subset of Advance Fee Fraud in General. 419 Advance
Fee Fraud is defined as Advance Fee Fraud with a West African connection.
This connection can be the origination point of the fraud attempt, or it
can be the origination place of the 419er. Thus, an Advance Fee Fraud
attempt originating, for example, from Outer Mongolia, would be 419 AFF
if the fraudster(s)themself were of West African origin or were locals
operating at the behest of a West African based 419 syndicate.
Also, this article appears to deap primarily with what is classed as
Classic 419. As the reader of this site knows very well there are many,
many types of 419, such as Lottery 419 and Romance 419 to mention just
a couple of them.
Regarding Mr. Hurley's study, which maintains that 419ers deliberately
mention Nigeria in their solicitations in order to weed out the wary,
419 Coalition would like to mention that we, and many other experts in
the field like Ultrascan AGI, have found that in our experience quite
the opposite is the case - ie. most 419ers go to great lengths to NOT
mention Nigeria, or Nigerians in their solicitations; and that in
general 419ers who Do mention Nigeria or Nigerians tend to do so primarily
for logistical reasons required by their local or main office operational
requirements.
************************************
13 AUG 2015
From the Daily Post, a Nigerian newspaper, sent in
by Ultrascan AGI:
EFCC arrest Nigerian who defrauded American of $4M,
exhibits cars, houses
By Seun Opejobi
A suspected fraudster, Idowu Olarenwaju also known as Captain Anthony
Abel Saramoh has been apprehended by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC for allegedly using his company, Total Internship Nigeria
Limited to defraud an American Citizen to the tune of $4million.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Anti-Graft agency,
stressing that the suspect lured his victim into paying the money
into his company’s account with the promise of supplying him crude
oil from Nigeria.
According to the statement by the Commission, the American however
petitioned the agency following Olarenwaju’s silence after the monetary
transaction was done.
Investigations carried out by the anti-graft agency led to the arrest
of one Joe Onwudimowei on June 18th who was discovered to be an accomplice
of the suspect who operates the account of Total Internship Nigeria Limited
with Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) where the money was deposited.
Joe who confessed to be working for Olanrewaju and one Otunba Yemi
Osho disclosed that the proceeds from the transaction have been given
to both men.
EFCC in the course of its investigation discovered that Olanrewaju has
several properties in Port Harcourt, Rivers and a 44room hotel in Ado
Ekiti, Ekiti State despite not having any reasonable source of income.
The ant-graft agency further recovered a number of cars including,
a 2014 Range Rover, 2013 Honda Crosstour, 2013 Range Evogue and
Honda CRV from Olarenwaju.
Olarenwaju, according to the EFCC would be charged to court soon.
Here is the URL of the article, which includes photos,
for as long as it is good:
http://dailypost.ng/2015/08/13/efcc-arrest-nigerian-who-defrauded-american-of-4m-exhibits-cars-houses-photos/
****************************************
5 JUL 2015
From Vanguard, a Nigerian newspaper, sent in by
Ultrascan AGI:
Five Nigerian students detained in Malaysia over alleged
N125.2m Internet Scam
by Favour Nnabugwu with agency report
Five Nigerian students have been arrested and detained in Malaysia
over their alleged involvement in an internet fraud amounting to
N125.2million (RM2.4 million) in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.
The five students, aged between 20 and 30, and pursuing Information
Technology courses in a leading private college in Kuala Lumpur,
were arrested on June 30, 2015 at different areas in that country
including Petaling Jaya, Cyberjaya, Damansara and Kuala Lumpur.
Following the arrest of the five students, police also detained
the two local women, aged 40 and 55, who are the owners of the
accounts used by the syndicate said Penang Commercial Crimes
chief ACP Azmi Adam.
ACP Azmi said police also seized five laptops, 20 hand phones,
ATM cards, SIM cards and documents believed to have been used
to con their victims.
He said police launched 'Ops Merpati' after receiving a report
from the owner of an ice producing factory owner in George Town
who claimed he had been cheated by the syndicate.
The 62-year-old victim said he had received an e-mail from the
syndicate in March, informing him that he was among 50 recipients
selected to receive RM15.9 million from the government of the
United States.
"The e-mail requested the victim to follow certain procedures
to ensure he did not miss the opportunity. Convinced by the
contents of the e-mail, the victim carried out 51 transactions
involving money, to accounts numbers given by the syndicate before
realising it was a scam. He later lodged a police report," he said.
Azmi said initial investigations revealed that the syndicate had
conned several victims to a tune of RM2.4 million. Police have
also found transactions involving up to RM1 million that were
banked in from a neighbouring country.
For some reason there appears to be two URL's given for this
article, so here are both for as long as they are good:
as it is good:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/five-nigerian-students-detained-in-malaysia-over-alleged-n125-2m-internet-scam/
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/5-nigerian-students-detained-in-malaysia-over-n125-2-internet-scam/
419 Coalition thanks ACP Azmi Adam and his team for their efforts,
Great Job! The Coordinator of 419 Coalition lived in KL for several
years as a young man and takes it personally when 419ers operate out
of Malaysia.... as they routinely do..... so, as the Nigerian saying
goes - "More grease to ACP Azmi's elbow" :)
******************************************
1 JUL 2015
From Metro Watch Online, a Nigerian news website,
sent in by Ultrascan AGI:
EFCC Arraigns 2 for $64,000 Romance Scam
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Wednesday
July 1, 2015, arraigned the duo of Osaze Akhigbe and Ndekwu Jindu
before Justice Lawal Akapo of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja
on an 11-count charge bordering on conspiracy to obtain goods and
money by false pretence.
The defendants, Akhigbe and Jindu were arrested by the EFCC sometime
in 2013 based on a petition from one Jolanta K, an American.
Jolanta alleged that she met Jindu, who introduced himself as a
self-employed Caucasian pharmacist, online in June 2012. Impressed
by his profile she "fell in love" with him, and both agreed to get
married.
She further alleged that in the course of the relationship, the
defendant at different times hoodwinked her into parting with over
Sixty Four Thousand United States Dollars ($64,000 USD).
Count 2 of the charge reads; "That you, Osaze Akhigbe on or about
the 6th of September 2012 at Lagos within the Ikeja Judicial Division
with the intent to defraud obtained a total sum of $1,900 (One Thousand
Nine Hundred United States Dollars) from one Jolanta K. through Western
Union money transfer under the false pretence that the money represent
payment for marriage engagement processes between you and her in Nigeria
and which pretence you knew was false".
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to them.
In view of the plea of the defendants the prosecution counsel, A. A Akujo
asked for a trial date and prayed the court to remand them in prison custody.
Justice Akapo adjourned the case till September 21, 2015 for hearing
of the bail application and ordered that the defendants be remanded
in Kirikiri Maximum Prison.
Here the the URL of the article, which includes photos,
for as long as it is good:
http://metrowatchonline.com/efcc-arraigns-2-for-64000-romance-scam/
****************************************
15 JUN 2015
From the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) website:
EFCC Arraigns Internet Fraudster for UK Pounds
54,324 Romance Fraud
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday
June 15, 2015, arraigned Ebiechina Chikeluba (aka Lisa T. Jackson)
before Justice O. A Ipaye of the High Court of Lagos State, Ikeja
on a 17-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence,
personation, forgery and using false document.
Chikeluba who met his victim on Facebook using the false identity of,
Lisa T. Jackson, a United States citizen, has been making monetary
demands of his victims, using varies guises. In one such instance
in March 2013, he obtained a total sum of (UK Pounds) 54,324.59 (Fifty
Four Thousand, Three Hundred and Twenty Four Pounds, Fifty Nine Pence)
from one K. Oaks through Western Union on the pretext that he was an
American woman dealing in Gold in Nigeria and needed money to increase
her capital. The unsuspecting victim paid, having already agreed
to marry the conman.
When the charges were read to the defendant, he pleaded not guilty.
In view of the plea of the accused, prosecution counsel, Andrew Akoja
asked for a trial date and prayed the court to remand the defendant
in prison custody.
The defence counsel, Chijioke Agu, informed the court that he has already
filed an application for bail and asked to be allowed to move his application.
However, Justice Ipaye adjourned the matter to July 20, 2015 for hearing
of bail application and ordered that the defendant be remanded in custody.
Chikeluba, 21, a student of Federal Science and Technical College Yaba,
Lagos was arrested by the operatives of the EFCC on February 24, 2015
for allegedly swindling Oaks, a UK citizen, of the sum of UK Pounds
54,000 (equivalent of N20m).
Here is the URL of the press release for as long
as it is good:
https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/index.php/news/1400-efcc-arraigns-internet-fraudster-for-54-324-romance-fraud
***********************************
12 JUN 2015
From the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) website:
EFCC Re-Arraigns Suspected Fraudster For $127, 000 Scam…
Docks Another for Forgery
A suspected fraudster, Emeofa Michael Ikechukwu, alias Michael
Briggs, was on Thursday, June 11, 2015, re-arraigned before
Justice I.E Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt,
Rivers State by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
EFCC.
The suspect, who had earlier been arraigned on March 10, 2015
before Justice H.A. Nganjiwa, is being prosecuted on a nine-count
charge bordering on impersonation, forgery and obtaining money
by false pretence to the tune of over $127,000
Ikechukwu had allegedly obtained the money from his Swiss girlfriend,
Misepasi, whom he met on a dating site in February 2013, after tricking
her to invest in a phony timber business.
One of the counts reads: "That you Emeofa Michael Ikechukwu (Alias
Michael Briggs) sometime in April, 2013 in Port Harcourt and within
the jurisdiction of this honourable court with intent to defraud did
obtain the sum of $77,003.95 (Seventy-Seven Thousand, Three Dollars,
Ninety-Five Cents) from one Misepasi and which you purportedly claimed
to be a business partner dealing with timber which pretext you knew
to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) (b)
of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and
punishable under section 1 (3) of the same Act."
However, the suspect pleaded not guilty when the charges were read
to him.
In view of his plea, counsel to EFCC, D. Ademu Eteh, prayed the court
to open his case.
The defence counsel, O.J. Atolagbe, told the court that there was a
pending application for bail.
Justice Ekwo adjourned the case to June 15, 2015 for hearing on the
motion for bail and ordered the accused to be remanded in prison custody.
In a related development, one Emmanuel Ikechukwu was also docked before
Justice Ekwo by the EFCC on an amended one count charge bordering on forgery.
The accused allegedly hacked into his victim's email and later contact
their friends or associates for money. One of the victims, Innocent after
receiving a mail from the accused, disguising to be a friend, deposited
the sum of One Hundred and Fifty Five Thousand Naira (N155,000.00) into
his account with a new generation bank.
The accused however entered a not guilty plea, when the charge was read
to him.
In view of the plea of the accused, the prosecution counsel, Ramiah O.E.
Ikhanaede prayed for a date for trial.
Justice Ekwo ordered that the accused be remanded in EFCC's custody
and adjourned the matter to 18th June, 2015 for hearing of bail
application and commencement of trial.
Here is the URL of the press release, which contains a photo, for
as long as it is good:
https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/index.php/news/1397-efcc-re-arraigns-suspected-fraudster-for-127-000-scam-docks-another-for-forgery
*******************************************
12 JUN 2015
From the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) website:
Internet Fraudster Bags Four Years For Hacking NASA E-mail
Justice S. S. Ogunsanya of the Lagos State High Court on Thursday
June 11, 2015, sentenced one Osarenwinda Idahor (a.k.a Osas Idahor)
to two years imprisonment on each of the two count charge bordering
on possession of document containing false pretence.
The convict was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission sequel to a petition from NASA OIG Computer Crimes
Division Goddard Space Flight Centre, United States, alleging
that the suspect hacked into NASA e-mail account to send scam
messages for advance fee fraud.
Further investigation by the EFCC revealed that the convict disguised
himself to be one Mrs Carlow Charles, a cancer patient who wanted to
donate the sum of $10,500,000 (Ten Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars
Only) to the motherless, widows and less privileged.
The convict upon arraignment on 25th day of May 2015 pleaded guilty
to the charge. Consequently, Justice Ogunsanya adjourned the case
to June 11, 2015 for ruling and sentencing.
When the matter was called June 11, Justice Ogunsanya sentenced the
convict to two years imprisonment without any option of fine on each
of the count charges. The sentences are to run concurrently.
Here is the URL of the press release, which includes a photo,
for as long as it is good:
https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/index.php/news/1395-internet-fraudster-bags-four-years-for-hacking-nasa-e-mail
*******************************************
3 JUN 2015
From the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission website:
EFCC Arraigns One for Internet Fraud
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on June 2, 2015
arraigned Friday Isodje before Justice U.N Agomoh of the Federal High
Court, Port Harcourt on a 3-count charge bordering on conspiracy,
Impersonation, Internet fraud and obtaining money by false pretence.
The accused was arrested sometime in 2013 alongside one Eloho Akarah
following intelligence report on their lifestyles. The suspect was
with a laptop computer containing scam mails.
One of the counts read, "That you Friday Isodje, on or about the 10th
day of July, 2013, at Port Harcourt within the jurisdiction of this
Honorable Court did conspired with one Eloho Akarah to commit felony
to wit: obtaining by false pretence contrary to Section 8(a) of the
Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related offences Act, 2006 and
punishable under Section 1 (3) of the said Act".
Another count reads, "That you, Friday Isodje, on or about the 10th
day of July, 2013, at Port Harcourt within the jurisdiction of this
Honorable Court did possess a document containing false representation
to wit: a letter of introduction as Alexandra Wallace sent to one
Regina Adu, which said representation you made in a bid to obtain
by false pretense, and there by committed an offence contrary to
Section 6 and 8(b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related
Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the said Act".
When the charge was read to the accused, he pleaded not guilty.
In view of his plea, the prosecution counsel, Usman Shehu, thus urged
he court to fix a date for the commencement of trial.
Justice Agomoh adjourned the case till June 15, 2015 for trial and
ordered the accused person to be remanded in prison custody.
Here is the URL of the press release, which contains
a photo, for as long as it is good:
https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/index.php/news/1372-efcc-arraigns-one-for-internet-fraud
***************************************
18 MAY 2015
From the Daily Mail (Australia) sent in by Ultrascan AGI:
Lonely heart, 61, gave her $350,000 life savings to a man she
met on dating site Plenty Of Fish - only to find out her urbane
Englishman 'Eamon Donegal Dubhlainn' was a Nigerian fraudster
Jan Marshall lost $350,000 to Nigerian dating scam and is still
paying for it
She signed up for online dating website Plenty of Fish and found
a match
She soon accepted a marriage proposal and sent money to a
'British man'
Her match, 'Eamon Donegal Dubhlainn', was an Englishman working
as an engineer in the United States, according to his dating profile
Ms Marshall has been told the money ended up in Nigerian accounts
Australians lost almost $30million in online romance fraud in the
past year
By Frank Coletta for Daily Mail Australia
Jan Marshall thought she'd finally found love, but not only has she
had her heart broken, her life savings of $350,000 have been ripped
away.
The Melbourne woman is just another victim of the online dating scams
which have cost Australians almost $30million in the past year alone.
Ms Marshall, 61, signed up to dating website Plenty of Fish in the hope
of finding love after moving to Melbourne from Brisbane in 2012, and matched
with one 'Eamon Donegal Dubhlainn'.
According to his dating profile, Mr Dubhlainn was from Manchester, England,
but working in the United States as a civil engineer.
Within a matter of months, she had accepted his marriage proposal, arranged
to meet him and started sending money to his bank account.
Little did she know that Eamon Donegal Dubhlainn didn't exist, and his
profile was invented and managed by a group of fraudsters in Nigeria
that specifically targeted Ms Marshall.
Ms Marshall works in change management for large corporations, she had the
successful career and hoped to find love. Soon after leaving Brisbane for
Melbourne in August 2012, she signed onto the dating site, Plenty Of Fish.
Putting those details on the internet was the start of her problems, as
the information was quickly snapped up by the scammers, who deemed her
the perfect target.
'I hadn’t had a lot of relationships before and I quickly got approached
by someone who claimed to be an engineer in America, and he said "I would
be happy to go anywhere for the right person", that’s apparently what they
say,' Ms Marshall told Daily Mail Australia.
'We continued to communicate and very quickly he got me on email and phone
and then instant messenger.'
But there was always a technical problem when they were supposed to video chat.
The fraudsters provided her two photos, naming 'the man' as 'Eamon Donegal
Dubhlainn'.
'He then said he was moving back to England and said "we will be together very
shortly, you are a special person and I want to communicate just with you".
'Within a month it got very serious and he asked me to marry him, and I accepted,
I was fully drawn into his love and attention.'
But for those closest to Jan, the alarm bells were ringing.
'Several friends tried to warn me, when you were in these things they cut you
off from your friends, encourage you to disassociate with them,' she admitted.
'They (the scammers) tell you that no one understands what we have, afterwards
I had to go back to family and friends – your initial reaction is of shock shame
and embarrassment.'
But the tactics were as effective as they were exhausting.
'They talk to you morning, noon and night, they are professional and manipulative
fraudsters, that’s the truth of the matter, just calling them "scammers" trivialises
what they do,' she added.
'We are not stupid, we are manipulated, we are groomed just the same as child
abuse victims are, in a sense we are caught in a honeymoon stage and then you
are not really acting normally.'
Groomed, ahead of the inevitable requests for money.
'He'd returned to England and then supposedly took a short-term contract in Dubai
and promised he'd come onto Australia six to eight weeks after that,' Ms Marshall
said.
'Once he said he was in Dubai, the money requests started, initially he said he
had to pay some taxes he hadn’t allowed for.
'It all happened over six weeks, and I only paid out to him expecting to get it back.
'And then it was money for business materials, and it got worse, he supposedly got
robbed on the way to pay those taxes,' she added.
More excuses and elaborate stories began to build, as did Jan Marshall's expenses.
'It was always amounts like $40,000, which I gave to him twice, then he said he
was in trouble with those he'd contracted work to and had to buy out the contract
for $77,000,' she said.
'The larger amounts went to bank accounts, those of $40,000 and $30,000 went through
Western Union, even thought there is a limit of $10,000 and I was doing it in multiples
of 10.
'Then, when he was apparently on his way to the airport (to come to Australia)
he had a car crash and was in hospital, they had other people like nurses and
doctors contact you, a document showing the expenses and others playing other
roles,' she said.
'I didn’t realise it was a scam until he got on a plane to England, he said
“I’m on my way now, thanks for everything", it wasn’t until then that I realised.
'He would always say "I am a wealthy man but I can’t access my funds".
'I would pay over $270,000 to them, that included savings, additional credit
and ultimately I took money out of a self-managed super fund, which I wasn't
supposed to do and which now has me in strife with the the tax office.
'I have a $76,000 tax bill on the super and that is at 46 per cent interest.
'I am a professional person, in a well paid job, and my friends say that
if they lined up 10 people in a line to see who would be caught out that
I wouldn’t have been the last one to have been duped by a scam like this.'
For Jan Marshall, the heartbreak and financial ruin caused by the online
scam won't end any time soon
Now Ms Marshall is fighting the Australian Taxation Office, which is pursuing
her for $76,000 after she accessed her superannuation for the 'man'.
Victoria Police investigated, passing on details to Western Union 'so the names
used could be stopped, as only they can do this'.
'The only follow up I received is that the money was collected in Nigeria,
though I had sent it to Dubai,' Ms Marshall said.
Online dating fraud remains the number one scam for financial losses, with
close to $30 million reported lost by Australians, despite it making up only
three per cent of all scam reports.
Delia Rickard, deputy chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
(ACCC), said: 'Scammers are stealing not only your money but also your data, which
they then use to commit identity theft or to sell to other scammers.
'Personal data is a valued commodity and one that you cannot put too high a
price on when it comes to protecting it.
'Unfortunately, scammers also recognise the value of your personal information
and will go to great lengths to steal it.
'Increasingly, scammers are using personal information gleaned from social
media profiles to target victims for a fraudulent relationship or investment.'
Nationally, the amount lost to dating and romance scammers jumped by 10 per cent
in the past 12 months, cementing the category as the most lucrative for fraudsters.
'Don't think it's just through dating websites, we found 33 per cent of these
relationships started on Facebook and other social media,' she said.
'And men are victims as much as women, it's basically 50-50.'
For Jan Marshall, the heartbreak and financial ruin caused by the scam won't end
any time soon.
'It left me in a lot of strife, I gave him money from my pay, I had to borrow
money to get through that first month, I closed down a lot of discretionary
spending and I am still in strife in credit card and tax office debt,' she warned.
'I have been scared off (relationships), I have come to terms with it but haven’t
wanted to go out there, quite honestly it has had a lasting affect.'
Here is the URL of the article, which includes related
photos and videos, for as long as it is good:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3085724/I-groomed-way-child-abuse-victims-Woman-loses-life-savings-350-000-falling-love-British-man-dating-site-sending-money-discover-Nigerian-fraudster.html
419 Coalition Comment: This cautionary case is nearly as egregious as the UK
Ms. Hill case of over a decade ago, in which the 419er, Tony Egbowon, remains
unarrested, unconvicted, and unpunished to this day..... see our 6 APR 1999 News
for details.... he has recently been reported to be in the Chicago, Illiois area
by the victim.
***************************************
14 MAY 2015
From the Premium Times, a Nigerian newspaper, a press
release by the EFCC, sent in by Ultrascan AGI:
FCC strategic to Nigeria's rebirth - Lamorde
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,
Ibrahim Lamorde, has described the establishment of the Commission
in 2003 by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo
as one of the major steps towards the rebirth of the nation.
Mr. Lamorde said prior to the establishment of the EFCC, Nigeria’s
image in the international community had been dented owing to economic
and financial crimes perpetrated by some individuals and organizations.
He further said Nigeria was synonymous with money laundering, weak
law enforcement and '419' before the creation of EFCC, adding that
the citizens were harassed at international ports of entry.
Mr. Lamorde, who spoke Thursday through the Deputy Director, Public
Affairs, Osita Nwajah, at the Induction Certificate Course of newly
elected legislators, organized by the National Institute for Legislative
Studies, also noted that before the establishment of the EFCC, Nigeria
was blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force, FATF, isolated
and dishonoured from international businesses.
He, however, stated that the war against corruption and other economic
crimes by the EFCC contributed to the de-listing of Nigeria from the FATF
blacklist of Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories (NCCTs).
Mr. Lamorde further highlighted the successes so far recorded by the
Commission to include "Robust enforcement of economic and financial
crimes, anti-money laundering law, routing of notorious '419' and
engendering renewed inflow of Foreign Direct Investments."
While stating that the EFCC’s mandate is not limited or influenced
by tribe, creed, status or affiliations, he said the Commission had
been actualising its mandate of nation-building through a number of
activities, including enforcement, receipt of complaints, investigation,
prevention, enlightenment and advocacy training.
He added that as an anti-graft agency, the EFCC has also ensured
restitution for victims of economic and financial crimes, locally
and internationally.
While answering questions on the issue of plea bargaining, Mr. Lamorde,
who lamented lack of insurance for staff of the Commission in spite
of the dangers associated with the job, described it purely as a matter
of judicial function.
According to him, most suspects often resort to plea bargaining when
confronted with volume of evidences against them.
"Most suspects don’t want to go the whole hog. They change their pleas
of not guilty to being guilty. It is done all over the world. Therefore,
if a suspect does not waste the time of the court or waste tax payers' money,
it makes it possible for him or her to resort to plea bargaining."
Mr. Lamorde added that contrary to the impression in some quarters, the
EFCC does not have the power to dispose of properties recovered from suspects
until final forfeiture is granted by the court.
The induction course was organized by the NILS to train and equip new
legislators with the necessary knowledge and skills to be effective
in the discharge of their responsibilities as law makers.
Here is the URL of the article for as long as it is good -
it includes a very nice pic of Ibrahim Lamorde, EFCC Chairman:
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/182970-efcc-strategic-to-nigerias-rebirth-lamorde.html
This press release is also posted on the EFCC website,
http://www.efccnnigeria.org
419 Coalition Comment: We've always liked Mr. Lamorde, from well before
he became Chairman of the EFCC, but must admit we are very disappointed
with some of the claims he apparently made in this press release. To hit
just the main high (or low) points: 1. The claim that 419 has been "routed"
is patently absurd, as to anyone even remotely familiar with 419er operations
is is overwhelmingly obvious that it is as prevalent as ever; 2. To claim
that EFCC deserves kudos for its record on "ensuring restitution for victims
of economic and financial crimes, both locally and internationally", is also
absurd. Anyone even remotely familiar with the scale of 419er operations,
recovered percentages of monies lost by victims, and the miniscule portion
of that miniscule portion actually repatriated to victims, knows the claim
of EFCC performance in this area is utterly, unequivocally false. And blaming
the Courts for the failures of EFCC in the area of restitition is not going
to wash either. EFCC has got to Press the Courts in these areas, and Enforce
Vigorously the relevant Court Orders, neither of which it does.
Just ask the victim in the famous Odiawa case, in which the 419er was
actually convicted (rare) and sent to jail (rarer) and in which around
two million dollars restitution was ordered, how effective the EFCC has
been in regard to recovery and court-ordered restitution and repatriation
of 419ed monies and assets. He'll tell you that in the roughly a decade
since the 419er was jailed, and restitition ordered, the 419er has already
been out of jail for Years now, and not one cent -- not a penny of
restitution has been made and repatriated to him, despite years and
years of pressing the EFCC to honor the Court order, get restitition,
and repatriate it. 419 Coalition says to Mr. Lamorde - if you want to
talk restitution and and repatration successes, Show Us (actually show
the Victim) restitution and repatriation of 419ed monies as ordered by
the Court in the Odiawa case. Until you can do that sir, you and the
EFCC are just blowing smoke claiming success concerning EFCC performance
in the area of recovery and restitution of 419ed assets - despite any
ill-advised claims you, or your your Agency, make to the contrary.
Repatriate monies to victims, Mr. Lamorde. Do it routinely. Do it
in something even remotely approaching the huge sums that are actually
stolen - and Especially when a Court has Ordered restitution. Then
sir, you will be able to arguably claim success in the area of recovery
and restitution of 419ed monies. Until that time, it might be better
to simply..... just..... shut up...... on recovery and repatriation
matters. Just sayin'
*********************************
13 MAY 2015
From DarkReading.com, the IT Security section of
US based InformationWeek.com, sent in by Ultrascan AGI:
Oil & Gas Firms Hit By Cyberattacks That Forgo Malware
New spin on the 'Nigerian scam' scams crude oil buyers
out of money with bait-and-switch.
By Kelly Jackson Higgins
An unusual type of targeted attack underway for two years uses legitimate
Windows file functions and a few homemade scripts -- but no malware -- to
infiltrate companies in the oil and gas maritime transportation industry.
Researchers at Panda Labs first discovered the attack campaign early last
year, which had slipped by antivirus software and hit around 10 companies
since it launched in August of 2013. The attackers are stealing information
from oil cargo organizations and then using that information to pose as
legitimate firms in scams against oil brokers.
"This is an innovative targeted attack" but not an APT (advance persistent
threat) or cyberespionage, says Luis Corrons, technical director of Panda
Labs. "They use no malware; I'm not sure if they're not using malware
because they don't know how to … They were stealing credentials without
malware."
The attack campaign, dubbed Phantom Menace by Panda, was first spotted
by the security team at an oil and gas transportation company in the U.K.
It began with a convincing-looking spearphishing email with a phony PDF
file that when opened by the victim user, was empty. "It has a self-destructor
file, and it creates a folder where it puts files inside. It runs one of the
batch files and that's it. There are no malicious" code tools, he says.
Panda was able to root out the stolen files from an FTP server used by the
attackers, and drill down into the attack itself, which turns out to be a
new spin on the Nigerian scam. It works like this: the scammer contacts an
oil broker and offers them anywhere from 1- 2 million barrels of Bonny Light
Crude Oil (BLCO) -- at a bargain price -- from a town in Nigeria called Bonny
that's well-known for oil with low sulfur content, which makes it a low-corrosive
grade product.
"They have to show proof the product, quantity and quality of the oil, and
they ask for $50- 100,000 in payment to close the agreement," Corrons says.
"They [the broker] goes there, and there is nothing," no oil or supplier,
he says.
"Our guess here is that they were interested in [oil cargo transportation
company] user credentials so they can steal and copy real certificates from
those companies" that they can use in the scam to pose as legitimate oil firms,
he says.
Most of the victim organizations were in Europe, including Spain, Germany,
and Belgium. There also were victims in Asia, he says.
The initial infiltration of the victim systems once the phony PDF is opened
works like this: an executable file using an Adobe Acrobat Reader icon self-extracts,
creates the folder, and moves six files into that folder. It runs a series of files
it planted, and ultimately uses a .bat file to modify the Windows registry such
that each time the computer starts, it runs its .bat file to grab usernames
and passwords from the mail client and browser, and then save them in a text file.
There are additional steps to mask the folders, including disabling the Windows
firewall. The last step is using FTP to upload the stolen files to the attackers'
own FTP server.
"Why would you bother to buy or build a Trojan," which could be detected, Corrons
says. The legit files fly under the radar.
Corrons and his team found some 865 unique files of stolen information in the
FTP server, all of which were from the oil and gas maritime transportation sector.
Unmasking An Attacker
The researchers also have been able to identify one of the likely attackers
involved. But in the end, that may not matter: none of the victims will report
the attack to law enforcement. Panda's theory is that's because they don't see
it as a pure breach: none of the information and credentials stolen from the
victims was actually used against them, but instead was used against other
companies. They don't want to report that they were duped for fear of negative
publicity, according to Panda. "They prefer to keep a low profile, change their
credentials, and continue to operate just as if nothing had happened."
And if law enforcement has no official complaints filed, there's no investigation,
Corrons notes. "The broker who lost the money was unofficially buying the oil …
from the underground," he says.
"The guy [attacker] leaves free," he says.
Panda began tracking the attackers by following the FTP connection used to send
the stolen credentials. That took them to a free FTP service, where one of the
attackers had registered for it. While his name and location information was fake,
it appears the city was not -- the village of Ikeja in Nigeria, which is also
known as "computer village" in the country, due to its large concentration
of technology vendors.
They also traced his gmail.com address, and they were able to decipher his
name: "We took the 9 characters that made up the email address and started
combining them to see if we could form an alias, a first name, a last name
or similar. And we got it," Panda says in a report on the campaign.
The suspected attacker is a Nigerian national, and they found his Twitter,
Facebook and LinkedIn accounts as well. He's a resident of Ikeja who owns
a goods transport company. "Too many coincidences. So, even though all the
evidence seems to indicate that this is the person responsible for the attack,
there is no way for us to prove it. It would require the police to launch
an investigation and obtain information about the FTP connections, etc.,
in order to get the IP address of the person who signed up to the service
and find the culprit," Panda said.
Here is the URL of the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/oil-and-gas-firms-hit-by-cyberattacks-that-forgo-malware/d/d-id/1320417
419 Coalition Comments: We'd like to mention that Oil Scam 419
is one of the original, oldest, and longest running forms of 419.
The 419ers have always used oil industry information, wherever they
can obtain it, to buttress the believability and checkability of
their "tale" - to include industry journals and publications, company
contact lists, news articles, press releases, stockholder publcations,
etc. What is new(ish) here is that the 419ers are using phishing
techniques to get into company servers directly in order to support
the "tale" that they are telling to others, in addition to culling
such materials from other sources.
********************************
12 MAY 2015
From The Guardian, a Nigerian newspaper:
Two Nigerians sent to 12 years in prison in Vietnam for email fraud
By Deola Adebiyi
A Vietnamese court has sentenced two Nigerian men, Christian Nnadike, 34,
and Collins Deke, 37, to 12 years each in a Vietnam prison for hacking
into emails of local companies, contact the company’s foreign partners
and swindle them of their money.
The men along with a Vietnamese female accomplice, Le Thi Kim Quyen, was
sentenced to 15 years in prison and another Nigerian, de facto husband
of the Vietnamese lady, Mark Mamado Abdallah, 39, who is currently at
large, ran a scamming syndicate in Vietnam.
At the court hearing which took place in April, the men and their accomplice
were also found guilty of another fraud scheme in which they pretended to be
a British friend of two Vietnamese women on Facebook and asked them to send
money as shipping fees to receive gifts.
According to prosecutors, the group defrauded many unsuspecting victims
of over VND3.3 billion (US$150,000) between April and August 2013. Most
of this came from the email hacking scheme.
Prosecutors said over the four months, the Vietnamese woman, Quyen and her
Nigerian husband, Abdallah hacked into the emails of several Vietnamese
companies doing business with foreign companies. They gave the information
to Nnadikwe and then Deke, who would later transfer it to another Nigerian
man living in Malaysia. The unknown man in Malaysia then used the compromised
email accounts to contact the victims’ foreign partners, asking them to send
payments to a bank account opened by Quyen and Abdallah.
Here is the URL of the article, which includes a photo,
for as long as it is good:
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/05/two-nigerians-sent-to-12-years-in-prison-in-vietnam-for-email-fraud/
******************************************
10 MAY 2015
From BBC News:
Inside the world of Ghana's internet fraudsters
By Sammy Darko
BBC Africa, Accra
Internet fraudsters in Ghana are easy to spot. The young men
in fast cars have become such a conspicuous group that they
even have their own nickname. Meet the Sakawa boys.
David is 25 years old. He's been defrauding people on the internet
for the last two years.
"I know it's wrong but it gives me a lot of money," he says.
He used to sleep on the streets. Then he saw his friends in internet
cafes earning money defrauding people online.
A typical con is pretending to be a woman romantically interested
in men from Europe, America or Asia.
He learnt the trade and, with little formal education, earned enough
money to rent an apartment, buy a car and have money left over to spend.
But he insists the money isn't earned easily.
"Some say this work is easy but it is not."
"You have to be patient, smart, fast and cultivate trust between you
and the white person". Fraudsters in Ghana say they are the women
in pictures and videos to draw in victims
Fraudsters like David (not his real name) pretend to be beautiful women.
They play clips of the women saying hello. They then tell their targets
that their microphone or speakers aren't working so they can't speak,
they can only communicate via messages.
Over time they build up a romantic relationship with them before
convincing them to send them money.
Others pretend to have a concession in gold, timber, securities or oil
to persuade people to hand over money for their fake business arrangements.
The group of fraudsters have come to be known as the Sakawa boys in Ghana,
a term which means "putting inside" in the Hausa language.
It's not just a living, but a lifestyle.
Sakawa boys are so renowned in Ghana that a primary school pupil can
point one out - their lavish lifestyle gives them away.
They can be spotted on a Saturday night in Santa Marie, a suburb
of Ghana's capital Accra. Sakawa boys are known for driving around
playing loud music.
The streets are filled with unlicensed Range Rovers and Toyota Camrys.
Young men in tight jeans, baseball caps and flashes of gold sit with
their car windows wound down and play loud music.
A decade ago the term Sakawa was not even used in Ghana. Instead internet
fraudsters were called Yahoo boys - a term mostly used for conmen in Nigeria.
The Nigerian singer Olu Maintain released the song Yahooze in 2007. In the
song he says "it's all about the Benjamins baby", referring to hundred dollar
bills. And at gigs he started spraying money at fans.
He said in an interview with Modern Ghana at the time "nobody is interested
in how you got to where you are. Everybody is interested in results".
Although he said in the same interview "the song has nothing to do with yahoo".
Now the term Sakawa boy has taken over in Ghana. There is even a collection
of Sakawa boy films, whose storylines often reference the use of black magic.
Ghanaian films have storylines about Sakawa Boys
One reason they have taken off in Ghana is that it has one of the highest
internet penetration rates in Africa.
Sakawa boys are not just conspicuous consumers.
Some claim they also wield considerable influence.
The Ghanaian Times reports that a government minister complained that chiefs
"condone and connive with such criminals" - referring to Sakawa boys.
Northern Region Minister Alhaji Limuna Mohammed Muniru said he had received
a death threat after issuing a directive to arrest some Sakawa boys.
The same minister also claimed some of the conmen had bribed a chief
to rename his town either Galaxy City or La Palmas.
The negative effect of Sakawa boys' cons is felt across the country.
Cybercrime contributed to Ghana being blacklisted for money-laundering
by the international watchdog the global Financial Action Task Force
in 2012. This dented the country's international reputation as an
investment destination.
The government says those who have been victims of Ghana's conmen should
lodge formal complaints but so far, there have been few convictions - partly
because of the difficulty prosecuting this type of crime, with the victims
living abroad.
David recognises that being a conman doesn't help his own reputation either.
But the money is too much of a lure for him to make a career change any time
soon.
Here is the URL of the article, which includes photos,
for as long as it is good:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32583161
********************************************
5 MAY 2015
From the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) website:
Suspected Internet Scammer Arraigned By EFCC
A 19-year-old suspected internet fraudster Ojosipe Adebayo, has been arraigned
by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, before Justice A.O Ipaye
of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja on a two- count -charge bordering on possession
of a document containing false pretences and forgery.
The defendant is allegedly a member of a syndicate of internet fraudsters that
specialize in using fake cheques and scam mails to defraud unsuspecting victims.
When the charges were read to the accused person, he pleaded not guilty.
One of the charges read: “That you Ojosipe Adebayo (a.k.a. "Marty Jason" and
"Candice") on or about the 8th day of May, 2014 at Lagos, within the Ikeja
Judicial Division had in your possession a document in which you represented
yourself to be a single lady called Candice from Trenton, New Jersey, United
States who helps the needy to organise Charity concerts and also helps the
homeless to get funds for Motherless Babies Homes which representations you
knew or ought to have known to be false having regard to be circumstances
of this caseâ€.
In view of the plea of the defendant, the prosecution counsel, Ayokunle Fayanju
prayed the court for a trial date and also for the defendant to be remanded in
prison custody.
However, defence counsel, Michael Asai asked for a short adjournment in order
to file an application for bail.
Justice Ipaye subsequently remanded the defendant in Kirikiri Maximum Prison
and adjourned the matter to May 21, 2015, for hearing of the bail application
and commencement of trial.
Here is the URL of the accouncement, which contains a photo,
for as long as it is good:
https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/index.php/news/1319-suspected-internet-scammerarraigned-by-efcc
********************************
12 APR 2015
From the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, sent in by
Ultrascan AGI:
Public duped of $2m through Internet fraud
FIU now target for scammers
by Rhondor Dowlat
In two years, people living in T&T lost over $2 million to lottery scams.
A lottery scam is a type of advance fee fraud, a rising type of crime
targetting Internet users around the world.
T&T's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has published advisories on
several such financial scams, namely "e-mail hijacking," advance fee
fraud and "conference scams," in order to assist the public in identifying
the activity so as to reduce monetary loss and emotional harm, which the
victims suffer.
In fact, just recently the FIU issued a warning to be on the lookout
for false and misleading information being circulated by people claiming
to be FIU agents, after it was brought to the body's attention by people
who had been contacted by the con artists. According to the FIU, these
people may present bogus letters, e-mails, text messages or faxed documents
purporting to be issued by the FIU.
"The FIU wishes to make it clear that it does not charge fees for services,
issue clearance certificates or seize assets of any kind; does not communicate
via text messages or social media e.g. Facebook and Twitter and requests no
fees. Clearance certificates or similar invoices made in the name of or on
behalf of the FIU are false," a release stated.
While financial scams take many forms, the focus here, according to FIU
public affairs officer Heather Baldwin-McDowell, is on the advance fee
fraud, otherwise called the "419" or "Nigerian scam."
"The common theme is a notification or invitation to take up an offer with
the promise of significant sums of money or other reward. The intention is
to persuade the intended victim to part with his money in the expectation
of receiving a large future monetary gain or other benefit," Baldwin-McDowell
told the Sunday Guardian.
She said although the vast majority of recipients do not respond to the
communication, a small percentage do, but as many millions of messages can
be sent daily using technology it makes the scam worthwhile.
"As well, often persons are too embarrassed or too ashamed to admit that
they were gullible, so they fail to report the fraud," she said.
In the past two years, during the period October 2012 to Sept 2014, the
FIU received 17 reports of advance fee fraud. Baldwin-McDowell explained,
"These scams have induced citizens of T&T to wire/mail/transfer thousands
of dollars of their savings to persons they do not know to claim 'large
fortunes,' 'lottery winnings,' or 'inheritance.'"
The reports reflect that scammers/fraudsters have requested sums as low
as $5,000 to as much as $400,000 (TT dollars) at a time.
"Anyone can be a target," she added.
Wide tentacles
The scam usually begins with a letter, e-mail, fax, text, phone call
or on social network sites seeking contact with the potential victims.
The fraudster may impersonate a known person or organisation which exists,
or may create a fictitious person or organisation.
The intended victim is made to believe they were a selected recipient
although the same communication is sent to thousands of intended victims.
The subject line of an e-mail or message may read, "You are a winner;"
"Dear conference invitee;" "Attention (your name) Beneficiary;" "My dear
friend;" "From the desk of Barrister (name)" or "Your assistance is needed."
Asked by the Sunday Guardian if the T&T Police Service had launched an
official investigation and if there were any people of interest thus far,
Baldwin-McDowell replied, "By law the FIU is not allowed to disclose this
information or make any comment on this question. Refer to section 22 (1)
of the Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago Act Chap 72:01."
In Another example is a fraudulent conference e-mail invitation or Conference Scam.
In this scam, Baldwin-McDowell said, "The intended victim receives an e-mail
invitation to a conference, seminar or other academic or professional event.
The e-mail appears to come from an international or professional organisation
such as the United Nations, various human rights organisations, non-governmental
organisations, foundations, sporting foundations or key personnel in these
organisations. The scammers may also use the names of organisations that do
not exist, but closely resemble well-known organisations."
These invitations are usually sent to a person's e-mail address or through
their professional networks such as LinkedIn.
These invitations, she added, frequently appeal to a benevolent humanitarian
cause such as human rights, global peace, human trafficking, child abuse,
racism or HIV/Aids awareness.
"The e-mail usually states that conference costs, flight and accommodation
will be borne by the organising committee and that only a registration or
processing fee is required," she said.
"The conference is usually held in an exotic or international location and
the names of bonafide hotels and conference facilities are often used. Visa
assistance is offered at the time of registration. False e-tickets may be
provided."
More Info
The Financial Intelligence Unit of T&T (“the FIUâ€) is a specialised
intelligence-gathering unit. It receives reports of suspicious transactions
and activities from financial institutions and certain business sectors.
It analyses this information with other information from various sources
and produces intelligence, which it sends to law enforcement agencies
to investigate. The FIU’s intelligence-gathering functions are therefore
separate and distinct from investigative functions, which are carried out
by law enforcement agencies.
Side Bar
Common types of advance fee scam are:
* Lottery winner
* Inheritance and its variant "unclaimed money"
* Employment or job offer
* Distressed relative/friend
* Romance
* Online sales
Common Elements - Be on the alert for:
* Requests to send money using wire transfer services such as Western Union
and Money Gram. An international wire transfer is equivalent to sending cash;
the transaction is fast and cannot be reversed.
* Non-face-to-face communication where you cannot determine the person's
true identity
* Delays or monetary hurdles which prevent the deal from occurring as planned,
e.g. unexpected taxes; insurance or licence fees; clearance certificates; legal
fees
* Psychological pressure, e.g. the offer will expire after a stipulated time
or the money must be received to pay certain costs
* False documents, e.g. use of fake letters from international organisations
or government offices to gain victim’s trust
* Fake cheques, e.g. where payment to the victim is required to solidify
the victim’s confidence in the validity of the scheme
You may seek additional information on FIU Advisories by clicking on the FIU
website link: http://www.fiu.gov.tt
Here is the URL of the article for as long as
it is good:
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2015-04-11/fiu-now-target-scammers
***********************************
31 MAR 2015
From the Nigerian website The Eagle Online sent
in by Ultrascan AGI:
Man, 22 attempts to bribe EFCC N6m
By Anurika Onyelemelam
**The suspect, who has been discovered to be the owner
of a tastefully furnished four-bedroom bungalow, was
further alleged to have duped one Stephanie, an American
lady, of $75,000, with which he acquired some of his
seized properties**
Dumi Osayemi A 22-year-old man was shocked out of his wits when
operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission slammed
handcuffs on him for allegedly offering them N6.9 million bribe.
The suspect, Dumi Osayemi, alias Larry, was said to have compounded
his problem when he offered the stern faced agents the money. Osayemi
offered the bribe, hoping that they would let him off the hook as they
investigated him for suspected internet fraud.
The suspect, who has been discovered to be the owner of a tastefully
furnished four-bedroom bungalow, was further alleged to have duped
one Stephanie, an American lady, of $75,000, with which he acquired
some of his seized properties.
The suspect allegedly indulged and pampered his girlfriend, Dorcas,
and her mother, Rose, with his ill-gotten wealth. The EFCC spokesman,
Wilson Uwujaren, said: "A suspected internet fraudster, Dumi Osayemi,
a.k.a Larry, is currently ruing his attempt to compromise operatives
of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC."
"The 22-year-old, who was arrested following a tip-off about his suspicious
flamboyant lifestyle, allegedly offered a N6,900,000.00 bribe to EFCC
operatives so he could be let off the hook."
Uwujaren said at the time of Osayemi's arrest, the following items were
recovered from him: a 2011 C350 Mercedes Benz car and a Toyota Venza.
The suspect will soon be arraigned in court.
Here is the URL of the article, which includes a photo
of Osayemi, for as long as it is good:
http://theeagleonline.com.ng/man-22-attempts-to-bribe-efcc-n6m/
******************************
4 FEB 2015
From Saharareporters.com (New York) sent in by Ulatrascan AGI:
EFCC Arraigns Youth Corps Member, Two Others For Cybercrime
The suspects, who were living at 4, Coal City University Close,
Independence Layout, Enugu, were arrested by operatives of the EFCC
following intelligence report over their alleged involvement in
Internet crime.
by Wilson Uwujaren
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday,
February 3, 2015 arraigned the trio of Solomon Uchendu, Ndubisi
Agu and Uchendo Chikwadu before Justice D. V.Agishir of the Federal
High Court sitting in Enugu, Enugu State for offences bordering on
obtaining by false pretence and Advanced Fee Fraud.
The suspects, who were living at 4, Coal City University Close,
Independence Layout, Enugu, were arrested by operatives of the EFCC
following intelligence report over their alleged involvement in
Internet crime.
One of the suspects, Solomon, who is currently undergoing the mandatory
National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, in Akoko, Ondo State, confessed that
he had about seven different email accounts registered with different names.
Solomon, who is facing a seven-count charge, further disclosed that most
of his victims were from the U.S., Canada and Germany.
According to him, "One Patricia from Canada gave me $1200USD; Larisa from
Germany gave him $300USD; Ethel from the U.S. also gave me $300USD. All of
them know me as Lincoln, but they don't know that I live in Nigeria."
One of the charges read: "That you Solomon Uchendu on or about 3rd day
of May 2014 in Enugu, Enugu State within the jurisdiction of the Federal
High Court of Nigeria was found in possession of a document containing
a false pretence titled "Hello. I am Mark; sorry for stumbling into your
profile" and thereby committed an offence, contrary to section 6 and
section 8 sub-section( b ) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related
Offence Act 2006 and punishable under section 1 (3) of the same Act."
The second suspect, Agu, who hails from Umuelem in Ihitte Uboma LGA of
Imo State, also told the court that he had numerous email accounts.
Agu, a final year student of the Enugu State University of Science and
Technology, Enugu further told the court that he realized $13000USD between
2013 and February, 2014 from some of his victims across the world.
The third suspect, 22-year-old Chikwadu, a native of Imezi LGA Enugu State,
confessed that he had three fake drivers' licences, which were procured in
the names of John Omoaroijake, Gary Harry and Chikwadu Uchendu at a cyber
cafe on Airport Road and at the licensing office at Jakpa Road in Warri,
Delta State.
Chikwadu, who is currently seeking admission into the Delta State University,
said he met one 32 year-old nurse, Grace Talves of Blackpool, United Kingdom
on a dating site named "Tagged".
The suspect, who claimed to be Harry Phillp, 42, thereafter, began to send
love scam mails and pictures to Talves, a British divorcee and mother of one,
who is currently in Nigeria for an engineering job.
He stated that he duped her 500 UK Pounds, an Ipad and a Mac Air laptop.
One of the charges read: "That you Uchendu Chinonso on or about 3rd day
of May 2014 in Enugu, Enugu State within the jurisdiction of the Federal
High Court of Nigeria was found in possession of a document containing
a picture in which you presented yourself as a white man by name Gary
Harry Philip a pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an
offence contrary to section 6 and section 8 (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud
and Other Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under section 1 (3)
of the same Act."
The prosecuting counsel, Barrister Innocent, applied orally for a trial date
and pleaded that the suspects be remanded in prison custody.
But the defence counsel, Barrister Aneke, prayed the court to grant the
suspects bail, which the prosecuting counsel kicked against.
Justice Agishir adjourned the case to February 10, 2015, while ordering
that the suspects be remanded in prison custody.
Here is the URL of the article for as long as it is good:
http://saharareporters.com/2015/02/04/efcc-arraigns-youth-corps-member-two-others-cybercrime
*****************************************************
24 JAN 2015
From the Vanguard, a Nigerian newspaper, an excellent
long article on 419:
419: The world of the Nigerian fraudster
By CHIOMA GABRIEL
Their modus operandi is unique. It could be that man in your neighbourhood
who doesn't seem to have any visible means of livelihood but lives big and
drives the best cars. He might even have a business front but lives larger
than the business that you begin to wonder if his lifestyle is strictly
derived from that business you know.
Or, it could be that man you see around everyday when workers and businessmen
are leaving their homes in the early morning who does not go anywhere but
lives like a prince in your neighbourhood.
They also come in other forms. Suddenly, you realise that somebody is using
your email account to solicit funds from your facebook friends, your colleagues
or other contacts in your email.
Or maybe, you are worshipping in a church but you are not sure if the man
on the pulpit is called by God or whether the church is just another business
enterprise where people are milked dry and dumped. It happens.
Perhaps, you have been receiving text messages from unknown sources informing
you of an inheritance you don't know about being paid into your bank account
and leaving a number for you to contact for details that could lead to maximizing
the benefits of that inheritance and before you know it, you are duped!
It could also be a text message informing you about winning a lottery you never
entered into or using things they think you are familiar with to hoodwink you!
Sometimes too, it could be a rich married woman being lured into a love web
with the motive to dupe her of her resources or that of her husband via blackmail
whether the love scene is real or make-believe.
The stories and the experiences are endless. All over the world, Nigerians are
dreaded due to a few bad eggs that have mastered the scam game.
Overseas, it is believed that scamming is the country's third largest export
industry, the 'sweetheart swindle' being the most devastating. Not only are
women taken for thousands of dollars, but their families are torn apart, their
hearts broken and their ability to trust damaged.
Whether they call it 419, Obtaining By Trick, OBT or Yahoo-Yahoo, it is the
same story. People are using the internet to perpetrate scams that deprive
many of their hard earned money, destroy businesses and make nonsense of
their lives.
In the newspapers and the internet everyday, stories are read of Nigerians
of all ages who wreak the life of other Nigerians and foreigners through the
advance fee fraud running into millions of Naira, Dollars, Pounds Sterling
and Euros.
Scammers have developed new ways to try to convince people that their
money-grubbing cons are really genuine. Nigerians are duped everyday through
business and love scams. Foreigners are the worse victims.
On weekly, nay daily basis, new variations of the so-called Nigerian 419 scam
(named for the section of the Nigerian constitution that deals with this crime)
appear.
Some scammers are pretty clever but with healthy skepticism, one can still see
through them.
One thing is very clear though. Every swindle is driven by a desire for easy
money; it's the one thing the swindler and the swindled have in common. Advance-fee
fraud is an especially durable con. In an early variation, the Spanish Prisoner
Letter, which dates to the sixteenth century, scammers wrote to English gentry
and pleaded for help in freeing a fictitious wealthy countryman who was imprisoned
in Spain.
Today, the con usually relies on e-mail and is often called a 419 scheme, after
the anti-fraud section of the criminal code in Nigeria, because it flourishes here.
Sometime ago, a Nigerian comedian, Nkem Owoh released a song which was the title
track in a film he played a lead role. He taunted Westerners with the lyrics "I
go chop your dollar. I go take your money and disappear. Four-one-nine is just
a game. You are the loser and I am the winner."
Most 419 letters and emails originate from or are traced back to Nigeria but
some originate from other nations, mostly also West African nations such as Ghana,
Togo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast ( Cote D'Ivoire ) etc.
In most cases 419 emails from other nations, even European nations like the UK,
the Netherlands, Spain etc. are also Nigerian in that the “Home Office†of the
419ers involved is Nigeria regardless of the apparent source of the contact
materials. But there are occasionally some "local" copycats trying to emulate
the success of the Nigerians, generally not very successfully.
EFCC
In a desperate effort to contain the embarrassment of internet scammers, the
Nigerian government established the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
EFCC.
Monies stolen by 419 operations are very rarely recovered from Nigeria, although
the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) when led by Nuhu Ribadu
and Ibrahim Lamorde made some welcome progress in that regard for several years prior
to 2008.
Ribadu and Lamorde were, however, replaced by Mrs. Farida Waziri as head of the
EFCC in early 2008. Under her leadership, the EFCC was not as active in counter-419
matters as it was under Ribadu and Lamorde. The performance of EFCC in the area
of recovery and repatriation of 419ed monies had waned. Mrs. Waziri was replaced
in November 2011.
Ibrahim Lamorde returned to the EFCC as Director of Operations in December 2010,
and replaced Waziri as Director of the EFCC in November 2011.
Advance fee fraud is still thriving
On April 16 2012, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission claimed it secured
the conviction of over 288 persons due to internet fraud. The EFCC also said four
fugitives were extradited to the United States while another 234 cases were still
being prosecuted.
Lamorde put the counterfeit financial instruments seized by the EFCC in collaboration
with the Nigeria Postal Service, at $24m, 858,937 pounds and euro 1,195, 218,214
respectively.
The anti-graft body boss said, "We must collaborate to, at least, survive the
onslaught and then fight back from the position of strength conferred by pooled
resources, shared intelligence, joint operations and other efforts such as this."
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello
Adoke, also said Nigeria was leading the fight against cyber crime and other
economic and financial crimes in West Africa and across the world.
Adoke said, "While we cannot deny the involvement of some Nigerians in these
unwholesome practices, we vehemently reject the tendency on the part of nationals
of some countries even within ECOWAS sub-region to label Nigeria a 419 nation."
"Our law enforcement agencies have recorded giant strides in the enforcement
of these laws as evidenced by the increased arrest, prosecution and conviction
of internet fraud related offences recorded monthly."
Nigeria has continued to live under the continual embarrassment of the activities
of fraudsters and internet scammers.
A statement posted on the Internet by the U.S. State Department, states that 419
schemes began to proliferate in the mid-nineteen-eighties, when a collapse in oil
prices caused severe economic upheaval in Nigeria. The people who are literate,
English-speaking, and living with widespread government corruption, faced poverty
and rising unemployment. These conditions created a culture of scammers, some of
them violent. Victims are often encouraged to travel to Nigeria or to other
countries, where they fall victim to kidnapping, extortion, and, in rare cases,
murder.
In the nineteen-nineties, at least fifteen foreign businessmen, including one
American, were killed after being lured to Nigeria by 419 scammers according
to the US State Department.
But Nigerian officials tended to blame the victims. "There would be no 419 scam
if there are no greedy, credulous and criminally-minded victims ready to reap where
they did not sow," the Nigerian Embassy in Washington was quoted to have said in a
2003 statement.
The following year, Nuhu Ribadu, the then chairman of Nigeria's Economic &
Financial Crimes Commission, noted that not one scammer was behind bars.
That year also, Ribadu's commission convicted two crime bosses who had enticed
a Brazilian banker to spend two hundred and forty-two million dollars of his
employer’s money on a fictitious airport-development deal.
One of the most common, longest-standing Nigerian scams is the invitation to share
in some ill-gotten gains. To get your hands, supposedly, on the dough, you have to
either supply personal bank account details (for ID theft) or make a money-wire or
credit card payment to get the money released (which, of course, doesn't exist).
To deal with the inevitable skepticism, the scammers often supply a link to a true
story, usually about someone (the benefactor) being killed in a road accident.
Every week, there are scores of reports about Nigerian scams. They come in several
variation which include: Hacking into Facebook accounts, then sending messages to
all the listed friends claiming the account owner is in trouble and asking for cash
to be wired for their rescue; collecting names and email addresses of people who
leave messages on obituary site guest books and contacting them with a request for
money, supposedly on behalf of the bereaved person; sending complimentary messages
to bloggers and article authors (both online and in print) as a way of establishing
a friendship that, sooner or later, results in a cash-call attached to a tale of woe;
offering to buy your Internet domain name, then asking you to visit a site (their site)
where you have to pay to have it valued; and using Microsoft Word documents as attachments.
These contain details of the scam story but, because they are not in the main body of the
email, they often don’t get picked up by scam detectors in your security software.
The one thing you can be sure of with Nigerian scams is that they may not be worded
well, but they are big-time sneaky in the way they try to fool people.
And you can be sure Nigerian scammers will find even more new tricks to test your gullibility.
The many stories of the Nigerian con artistes
In the United Kingdom, a conman who posed as a Nigerian prince in high society while
masterminding massive immigration scam was jailed for seven years. The story written
by Chris Greenwood and published in Daily Mail of UK told the story of the Nigerian-born
fake prince, Dr Yilkyes Bala who lived the high life and was chauffeur-driven in a Bentley.
But the 'businessman' was a criminal running an immigration racket.
Posing as a member of the Nigerian Royal family, he mingled with diplomats, captains
of industry and senior police officers. Dr Yilkyes Bala was chauffeur-driven in a black
Bentley and hosted sumptuous dinners at the Dorchester to mix with society's elite. But
the supposedly flourishing businessman was an ordinary scammer responsible for an ambitious
immigration racket.
Investigators believe he helped more than 100 of his countrymen, including most of his
extended family, to enter the UK illegally under false and stolen identities. At the centre
of the scam was a corrupt Home Office worker who sold him genuine, but improperly issued,
refugee passports for 1,500 pounds each. Bala then used his network of security companies
to give the illegal immigrants references and jobs.
They could then "hit the jackpot" and obtain a National Insurance number, giving them
full citizen's rights and access to State benefits.
But the racket, which continued for up to 16 years, unravelled when the Home Office
employee was caught.
Bala, 55, was sentenced to a seven year jail term from August 1st, after a jury convicted
him of conspiring to breach immigration laws.
An Australian named Jill got ensnared in the 419 scam in September 2005 when she was
contacted by someone pretending to be the Commissioner of Health in Nigeria, who was
apparently looking for Australian companies to renovate some hospitals in Lagos. The
potential profit in the deal was a cool $1 million.
Jill was already running a successful interior decorating business, she saw this as
a great opportunity. She said her scam started in September 2005 when she was contacted
by someone pretending to be the Commissioner of Health in Nigeria, who was apparently
looking for Australian companies to renovate some hospitals in Lagos. The potential
profit in the deal was a cool $1 million.
"I have been in business all my life and feel I'm fairly savvy. One of the things they
tell you at a very early stage is that you won’t have to part with any money, and like a
fool, you believe them," said Jill.
After communicating with the scammers over a long period of time, Jill began to trust
her contact. "I really believed they were my friends, how wrong was I," she said.
The scammers cost Jill her business and then led to her marriage break up. "In 2011,
my husband and I split because I went public with my experience. He said he didn't want
me to expose him and myself to the public, but I felt I had to do it," Jill said.
Brian Hay, who heads up the Queensland Police's Fraud and Corporate Crime Group,
said most victims were "smart business people" who were over 45 and held professional
qualifications. "We are not talking about stupid people. It’s not because they are
greedy. They saw an opportunity and got excited".
Also in 2005, Janella Spears, an Oregon woman lost a whooping $400,000 to a Nigerian
scammer. Janella Spears, a registered nurse from Sweet Home, Oregon, said she started
sending money to the scammers in 2005 after she received an email promising her several
million dollars from a long-lost relative. The fraudsters randomly contacted Spears over
the internet, claiming they would offer her a substantial cut of $20.5m fortune in return
for the cash injection which would help move it out of the country.
For Spears, it started, as it almost always does, with an e-mail. It promised $20 million
and in this case, the money was supposedly left behind by her grandfather (J.B. Spears),
with whom the family had lost contact over the years. "So that's what got me to believe it,"
she said.
Spears didn’t know how the sender knew J.B. Spears' name and her relationship with him,
but her curiosity was peaked. It turned out to be a lot of money up front, but it started
with just $100.The scammers ran Spears through the whole programme. They said President
Bush and FBI Director "Robert Muller" (their spelling) were in on the deal and needed her
help. They sent official-looking documents and certificates from the Bank of Nigeria
and even from the United Nations. Her payment was "guaranteed." Then the amount she
would get jumped up to $26.6 million – if she would just send $8,300. Spears sent the
money.
More promises and teases of multi-millions followed, with each one dependent on her
sending yet more money. Most of the missives were rife with mis-spellings. When Spears
began to doubt them, she got letters from the President of Nigeria, FBI Director Mueller,
and President Bush. Terrorists could get the money if she did not help, Bush's letter said.
Spears continued to send funds. All the letters were fake, of course, and she continued
to wipe out her husband’s retirement account, mortgaged the house and took a loan out
on the family car. Both were already paid for.
For more than two years, Spears sent tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars. Everyone
she knew, including law enforcement officials, her family and bank officials, told her
to stop, that it was all a scam. She persisted.
An undercover investigator who worked on the case said greed helped blind Spears to the
reality of the situation, which he called the worst example of the scam he’s ever seen.
He also said he has seen people become obsessed with the scam before. They are so desperate
to recoup their losses with the big payout that they descend into a vicious cycle of sending
money in hopes the false promises will turn out to be real.
Spears said it would take her at least three to four years to dig out of the debt she ran
up in pursuit of the non-existent pot of Nigerian gold.
A Canadian story
In 2009, a Canadian man in a well celebrated scam lost $150,000 to Nigerian Lottery
Scam. John Rempel of Leamington, Ontario, got an email way back in July, 2007 from
someone claiming to be a lawyer with a client named David Rempel who died in a 2005
bomb attack in London, England, and left behind $12.8 million dollars. The scammer
said it was a long-lost relative of the victim, or the deceased millionaire had no
relatives so they sought someone who shared the same last name.
The unidentified lawyer said his client had no family but wanted to leave the money
to a Rempel. It was John’s lucky day.
"It sounded all good so I called him," said John. "He sounded very happy and said
God bless you. But, then the Advance Fee Fraud came in."
The man told him he had to pay $2,500 to transfer the money into his name. He then had
to stump for several more documents some of which cost $5,000. The scammer told Rempel
he had to open a bank account in London, with a minimum $5,000 deposit. He said some of
the money had been transferred into the account for "safe keeping".
The scammers then upped the ante, sending an email from a "government department"
claiming he owed $250,000 tax on his inheritance. Rempel’s contact assured him he'd
"negotiated the fee down to $25,000".
Rempel decided to travel to London to check that the deal was legit. He made his
way to Mexico, where his uncle who owned a farm gave him cash and money for a plane
ticket. He said: "I had $10,000 in cash in my pocket and my uncle sent another $25,000
when I was over there."
Once in London, Rempel met "some people" and handed over the $10k. The next day,
the 419ers showed their target a suitcase they said contained $10.6m in shrink-wrapped
US bills. Rempel demanded further proof, at which point one scammer extracted a bill
and "cleansed" it with a liquid "formula" which "washed off some kind of stamp". The
process converted the cash into "legal tender", Rempel was told. Rempel said: "I was
like holy crap, is that mine? They said ‘yes sir, it's yours.' It all sounded legit."
Rempel went back to his hotel room with the magic formula to wait for the 419ers
"so they could cleanse all his money". They, of course, disappeared, later claiming
they’d "been held up".
The victim then managed to drop the bottle containing the formula, breaking it. He rang
his contact who said he’d get further supplies. Rempel flew back to Leamington and waited
several weeks until a call which confirmed more formula was available for $120,000.
Rempel said: "I thought, 'let's work on it, nothing is impossible'" The 419ers told
Rempel they "were willing to meet associates in different countries to get cash for the
formula", but that they'd need several plane tickets, at $6,000 a person.
The scammers subsequently confirmed they'd collected $100,000, but were still $20,000
short. Apparently, there was "a guy in Nigeria who had it, but another plane ticket was
required". The contact then insisted he could only get $15,000 of the balance and "begged"
Rempel for the remaining $5,000. Rempel obliged, borrowing the money and defaulting on
his credit card and car payments.
A week later, Rempel got the call he'd been waiting for – the cash was ready to go
if he could just find an extra $6,900 for "travel costs and to rent trunks to ship
the money".
The final contact between Rempel and the scammers was when they called to say they'd
arrived at the airport in New York. However, there was a slight snag – security had
stopped them and they needed $12,500 for a bribe.
Rempel, still none the wiser but substantially lighter in the wallet, told them: "No way,
I'm cleaned out."
In one last desperate act, Rempel drove to the airport with his parents and 10-year-old
brother, but found no trace of his friends or the money. They then went home and called
the police.
The final cost of Rempel's mix of greed and remarkable stupidity was $55,000 from his
uncle in Mexico, $60,000 from his parents to "cover fees for transferring $12.8 million
into his name", plus the money he personally lost – a total of $150,000.
He said: "They’re in it now because of me. If it wasn’t for me, nobody would be in
this mess. You think things will work out, but it doesn't. It's a very bad feeling.
I had lots of friends. I never get calls anymore from my friends. You know, a bad
reputation. I really thought in my heart this was true."
A scam too big
But what was described to be the biggest scam ever by the former chairman of
Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu
involved Banco Noroeste S.A. a Brazilian bank which recorded the "single biggest
advanced fee fraud case in the whole world".
Between May 1995 and February 1998, a total of US$242 million was reportedly stolen
from the Banco Noroeste S. A. through offshore banks in the Cayman islands. The money
was allegedly remitted by swift transfers through various banks to accounts controlled
by Nigerian nationals.
The authorisation for all the transfers was done by Nelson Tetsuo Sakaguchi, a senior
official at the bank. The Nigerians, in a 419 plan, came up with a fake contract to
build an airport in Abuja. They promised Nelson Tetsuo Sakaguchi a big commission in
exchange for funding the contract.
The fraud was detected in February 1998 while Sakaguchi was on vacation, in the process
of auditing carried out in readiness for the intended sale of the Bank Noroeste to Spanish
banking group Banco Santander. Inquiry revealed discrepancies in the bank’s books, with
at least US$242 million missing. Of this sum, US$190 million had been transferred directly
to accounts controlled by the Nigerians or through unlawful money changing operations
conducted by Naresh Asnani (a British subject of Indian descent resident in Nigeria)
and another Nigerian businessman resident in Enugu.
Following the discoveries, civil actions aimed at recovering the money were commenced
in Brazil, Switzerland, Hong Kong, the United States of America and in Nigeria. In addition
to the civil actions, criminal complaints were laid in Brazil, Switzerland, USA, Hong Kong
and Nigeria.
The accused persons and companies were charged with obtaining by false pretence $190
million from one of the directors of Banco Noroeste Bank. In prosecution, the Nigerian
nationals pleaded guilty to numerous crimes and forfeited $121.5 million dollars in assets.
The woman amongst them too pleaded guilty and received a two and half-year sentence after
agreeing to give back $48.5 million.
Investigators acting for the bank’s shareholders persuaded Sakaguchi to visit New York,
ostensibly for a meeting with the shareholders, where he was arrested on an international
warrant issued by the Swiss government and extradited to Switzerland to answer money
laundering charges. He admitted involvement in the fraud. In December 2002, Naresh Asnani
was arrested in Miami, while en route to a meeting with lawyers acting for the shareholders,
on an international warrant issued by the Swiss Government. He was extradited to Switzerland
to answer similar charges of money-laundering. On October 31 2003, he too admitted involvement
in the fraud.
The love scam
Besides the strictly business fraud, there were also many reported love scams. The
sweetheart swindle scam, also known as the Nigerian romance scam is the worst. This one
focuses on manipulating the emotions of a person who is seeking love online. These scam
artists meet unsuspecting women (and also men) on dating sites. They know exactly what
to say to make the victim fall in love with them and trust them completely. Once the scammer
has caught his victim in his trap, he begins to ask for small amounts of money to assist
him on daily expenses. Over time, these amounts become more. He needs money to pay his
medical bills after falling ill, he needs help because he was mugged, he needs your help
buying a plane ticket so the two of you can finally be joined together.
There was a story of one particular scammer who conned countless women since 2007. He was
Roy Innocent Moore and he is a professional Nigerian Romance Scammer. Roy Innocent Moore
concocted a persona that was complex and varied slightly from victim to victim. Certain
things always remained the same however. His mother was from the UK and he was born in Jamaica.
After the death of his father, his family relocated back to the UK and he attended Bradford
University for Art. He eventually moved to New York City, married and had a daughter. Depending
on which of his victims you speak to, Moore was either a widower or recently divorced.
A victim’s relative told a US tabloid: "I first came to hear of his name three years ago
when he met a family member of mine on a popular dating website. They were in love almost
instantly. Each day, he sent her poetry, and romantic emails filled with promises of their
future together. He was staying in Nigeria at the time because he had a contract with the
"National Museum" in Lagos."
"As time went by and her love for him deepened, he began to have financial troubles. She
was more than willing to assist him, knowing that any money she sent him would be returned
to her when he came home to America. He still has not shown up on her doorstep though she
has sent him thousands in order to bring him here."
"Though he swears his devotion, she is not his only "love." Several women also came
forward and shared their stories. The love they feel for him is real, however he is not.
Nigerian romance scammers steal personal photos of people that they claim to be them.
They are more than happy to send these to their victims. This results in damage not only
to the victim but to the individual who truly is in the photographs.
"The problem with this particular scam is that it is so prevalent. When I reported him
to my local FBI headquarters, they expressed sympathy but also said that with this scam
it is extremely hard for them to catch the criminal. All information that the scammer
provides the victim was fake and therefore difficult to track. These women have lost
thousands of dollars to this man, and been manipulated into theft and fraud, and they
may never truly know justice, and they will never see that money again."
"I know "Roy Innocent Moore" will more than likely never be caught and prosecuted for
his many crimes, but that does not stop me from telling my story. It is my hope, not that
he gets thrown in jail, but that by putting out information about him on the internet,
it will stop any future victims from falling prey to this criminal."
In another scam, a Nigerian tabloid reported on November 19 2012, how a Nigerian gospel
artiste was jailed for defrauding online lovers of 120,000 UK Pounds.
The gospel singer, Oluwamayowa Ajayi, reportedly fleeced four American women he met
on the internet dating site of over 120,000 dollars and was jailed for six and a half
years at Snakesbrook Crown Court in East London.
Ajayi, 31, who performed under the stage name "Malo Joe" pretended to be an American
fighter pilot, a grieving widower and an oil executive to the women he fleeced before
the long arms of the law caught up with him.
The crown prosecutor summed up his argument stating how Ajayi lived off the women
by lying among others. In one instance, he claimed that he had been held hostage
by Niger Delta militants and therefore, his captors needed some ransom before he
could be released,otherwise, they would kill him.
Despite the pleas for mercy, it was inevitable that he would be caged. The Judge
detailing the seven- count charge ruled that Ajayi had been found guilty by the jury
who had found him guilty four days earlier.
In one instance,he tricked and lied to one of his victims who parted with
over $100,000 that he was a businessman who was short of cash and therefore,
needed a loan. The woman used some of the money on her credit card and also
borrowed from family members to raise the funds.
In another, Ajayi claimed he was in the hands of Niger Delta militants and they
would kill him within 20 hours if the woman didn’t do anything about the ransom
they asked her to pay. She hurriedly sent $500 through Moneygram to Nigeria, where
he then cashed the money.
Just recently, Kudirat Jose of a Lagos High Court convicted and sentenced Promise
Ntuen Ekemini to one year imprisonment for hijacking the e-mail of a lawful owner
of a property, located in Western Australia valued at $800,000( Eight Hundred Thousand
United States Dollars), and attempting to sell the property. Ntuen Ekemini was arraigned
in April, 2014 on a 5-count charge bordering on conspiracy to defraud, attempt to obtain
money by false pretences and forgery. Justice Jose found him guilty of all the charges
and convicted him.
Ekemini got into trouble by impersonating Brian Roderick Daniel, owner of a property
located at No. 143, Sprinaway Parade, Falcon, Western Australia and offering his property
to buyers on the internet without the consent of the owner. The Australian Police alerted
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to monitor a controlled delivery
of some documents related to the transactions to Ekemini. He was arrested at the point
of collection of the documents.
Even students are in it
The scam stories are not the prerequisite of just a few. Even university undergraduates
are into it. In 2007, for instance, a final year student of the Department of Survey and
Geo-Informatics Engineering, University of Lagos, Lawal Adekunle Nurudeen, was sentenced
to 19 years imprisonment for obtaining $27,900.91 from an Australian woman, Pee Loo
Rosalind Summer.
The convict was arraigned before Justice M.O Obadina of Ikeja High Court on 19-count
charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and forgery.
He was found guilty on all the counts and consequently sentenced to 12 months imprisonment
on each count. The convict was also ordered to pay the sums of $5,900, N526, 117.15 and
any interest standing to his credit in his savings account with the Ikorodu Branch of a
new generation bank, to the victim.
In addition, the convict was asked to pay $250 monthly to the victim until the total
sum fraudulently obtained by him was liquidated. His two plots of land lying and
situated at Mowo Kekere Ikorodu bought from the proceeds of the crime, were sold
and the money realised remitted to the victim.
The Honda prelude car recovered by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
from the convict was also sold and its proceeds remitted to the victim.
A statement signed by the then EFCC's Head of Media and Publicity, Femi Babafemi, said
the convict who was an undergraduate of UNILAG met the victim on the internet and introduced
himself as Engineer Benson Lawson, a Briton working with a multi-national company in Nigeria.
"Along the line the victim, a 56- year old woman from Australia told the convict that she
wanted a husband and all the men she had met always disappointed her. The convict, who is
married with three children instantly applied and told the victim that she had met her Mr. Right."
"To convince his prey, he told the woman that he was a 57 -year old widower and that few
years back, his wife and their only child died in a ghastly motor accident in Lagos. He
sent the picture of a white man to the victim to foreclose any suspicions. The victim
accepted his proposal and that gave room for the next stage of the 419 heist." Few weeks
later, he called the woman to introduce himself as Dr. Saheed Bakare and informed her that
her 'fiance' Benson Lawson had an accident and needed money for his treatment. The love-struck
woman sent some money. "Two weeks after the convict called the victim and thanked her profusely
for her kindness. He now told her that he would like to visit her in Australia so that they
could consummate their relationship. He demanded for money for air ticket, police and customs
clearances and all sorts. "At the end of the day he duped the woman to the tuned of $47,000
before his arrest and arraignment by EFCC."
A prevailing problem
Despite Nigeria’s efforts, the schemes have reached “epidemic proportions. A publication
by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said the agency received more than fifty-five thousand
complaints about them last year, nearly six times as many as in 2001. The increase is due
in part to the Internet, which makes it easy for scammers to reach potential marks in
wealthier countries. "If we educate the public to the point where nobody falls for it, then
they’ll go out of business," Eric Zahren, a spokesman for the Secret Service, the lead U.S.
agency in investigating advance-fee frauds, says.
The agency estimates that 419 swindlers gross hundreds of millions of dollars a year, noting
losses by victims too embarrassed to complain.
Robert B. Reich, the former Labor Secretary, who has studied the psychology of market
behaviour, says, "American culture is uniquely prone to the 'too good to mis'’ fallacy.
'Opportunity' is our favourite word. What may seem reckless and feckless and hapless
to people in many parts of the world seems a justifiable risk to Americans."
The mind-set was best explained by the linguist David W. Maurer in his classic 1940 book,
"The Big Con": "As the lust for large and easy profits is fanned into a hot flame, the mark
puts all his scruples behind him. He closes out his bank account, liquidates his property,
borrows from his friends, embezzles from his employer or his clients. In the mad frenzy
of cheating someone else, he is unaware of the fact that he is the real victim, carefully
selected and fatted for the kill. Thus arises the trite but none the less sage maxim: 'You
can't cheat an honest man' " [419 Coalition note: But of course one can, the 419ers do it
all the time, as several of the accounts above demonstrate]
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/419-world-nigerian-fraudster/#sthash.j3LrOR74.dpuf
This URL also works for the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/419-world-nigerian-fraudster/
*************************************
18 JAN 2015
From the Punch, a Nigerian newspaper, sent in by
Ultrascan AGI:
EFCC arrests man for duping Dane 'love' $100,000
by Fidelis Soriwei
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested
a suspected internet fraudster, Ikechukwu (surname name
withheld), for obtaining $100,000 from a Dane, Hengamesh
Misepasi, in a love scam.
The Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren,
said, in a statement on Saturday that the suspected fraudster was
arrested by operatives of the commission at Port Harcourt, Rivers
State, in response to a petition from the Nigerian Embassy in
Stockholm, Sweden.
Uwujaren said the suspect, who met the Dane online, had conned
his unsuspecting victim by posing as an American business executive
on a business trip to Nigeria.
The arrested fraudster was said to have proposed marriage to the lady
after which he started making monetary demands from her.
The EFCC spokesman said the fraudster, who told his victim that he
was having some problems with government officials, requested a loan
from her.
Ikechukwu was also said to have convinced her to partner with him
in a non-existing timber business.
Uwujaren said, "The suspect allegedly met the victim online in February
2013 and falsely represented himself as an American business executive
on business visit to Nigeria."
"In the course of the internet affair, Ikechukwu promised his victim
marriage and later began to make monetary demands from her, using
various excuses."
"Once, he told her that he had problems with government officials and
requested a loan. He later cajoled her into partnering with him on a
phantom timber business."
Uwujaren said Ikechukwu made demanded $100,000 from the Dane, ostensibly
to enable him to travel to Denmark to meet her but was arrested while
trying to withdraw money he received from the victim through Western Union.
He said the suspect would be arraigned in court on completion of the
investigation.
Here is the URL of the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.punchng.com/news/efcc-arrests-man-for-100000-love-scam/
***************************************
18 JAN 2015
From the Brisbane/Queensland (Austrailia) Courier Mail,
sent in by Ultrascan AGI:
Australian victims of online romance scams could be funding
deadly Nigerian terror group
by Neil Doorley
The Sunday Mail (Qld)
THOUSANDS of Queenslanders being ripped-off by lucrative
online "romance" scams could inadvertently be funding Nigeria's
deadly al-Qa'ida affiliated terror group, Boko Haram.
Overseas intelligence has revealed links between the scams
and the Islamic extremist group, who this week massacred 2000
people near the Nigeria-Chad border.
Boko Haram also attracted international condemnation when its
fighters kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from a boarding school last
year.
Research by the Holland-based financial information agency,
Ultrascan AGI, found groups including Boko Haram were tapping
into the cyber scams for much-needed funds.
Officer in charge of the state's fraud and cyber crime group,
Detective Superintendent Brian Hay, said Queensland police had
held long-term "suspicions" about links between the scammers
and Boko Haram.
"Terrorist financing had been researched and discussed over
long periods of time, and enforcement strategies have been put
in place since 9/11 because authorities recognise the necessity
and value of focusing on such funding," he said.
"If you are talking about money from Nigerian scams, or advance
fee frauds, the general belief is that it is going into the pockets
of criminals to maybe fund drug trafficking, firearms, and pornography
operations."
"We are aware that terrorists have used financial crime as a method
of funding operations in the past."
"We do know that Nigerian scammers have a global base and that
some overseas agencies have touted about certain links (with
terror groups),"he said.
"But have we established a nexus? We have our suspicions."
Det Supt Hay said Australians lose about $90 million a year to
West African frauds, mainly run by Nigerians, who are believed
to be behind about 90 per cent of online "romance" scams in
this country.
"Just this week, I’ve spoken to an elderly gentleman who came
forward after sending over about $900,000 through a number
of their scams," he said.
Det Supt Hay said it was imperative law enforcement agencies
collaborated on measures to stem the flow of money to the kingpins
behind the Nigerian scams, who were rarely ever caught.
"So much cyber crime is being perpetrated at a global level, and
we’ve got to improve our communications, our pathways and our
co-operative spirit to work more effectively," he said.
"Queensland officers have worked with Nigerian authorities, the
FBI, and US Secret Service while we've passed on information to
the UK, New Zealand and Spain to combat the scammers, who have
developed a high level of expertise."
Here is the UR: of the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/australian-victims-of-online-romance-scams-could-be-funding-deadly-nigerian-terror-group/story-fnn8dlfs-1227188249664
15 JAN 2015
Press release from the Nigerian EFCC:
Love Scam: American Victim Lauds EFCC
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has been commended
for helping to recover $2000 for an American victim of love scam,
Margaret Sanders, just as the agency announces the recovery of $23,886
for another victim.
Sanders who lives in Sherman, Texas, made the commendation after she
was presented with a cheque for the sum by agents of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, FBI.
She expressed delight at the professionalism demonstrated by the Nigerian
agency in helping to recover the money which she thought she had lost to
the scammer.
The FBI agent who made the presentation lauded the cooperation with the
EFCC, while explaining that the FBI only facilitated the repatriation
of the money after it was recovered by the EFCC.
Sanders met a suspected Nigerian fraudster, Benjamin Akugbe, online and
fell in love with him. The scammer who claimed to be Benny Brown from Warri,
Delta State, promised her marriage, and requested for the sum of $2000.00USD
to enable him join her in United States of America.
The money was wired to him through Western Union, into an account with the
name, Gladys Ikpoba domiciled with a new generation bank.
After an endless wait for the fiance, Sanders came to the sad realisation
that she had been duped. But her efforts to recover the money were unsuccessful
until she petitioned the EFCC.
The latest recovery of $23,886 by the Commission was made in similar circumstances,
for Jolanta Kasza, an American based in New York. She was fleeced of $64,000 by a
suspected Nigerian Fraudster, Ndekwu Jindu (aka Dr. Daniel Coffman ) in a romance
scam.
Kasza allegedly met Coffman online in June 2012, and the fraudster introduced
himself as self employed Caucasian pharmacist.
Impressed by the profile, Kasza "fell in love" with both agreeing to get married.
According to her, in the course of the affair, the suspect at different times
requested for money under various guise. Before she realised that she was dealing
with a con artist, she had lost $64,000 USD to the fraudster.
She consequently petitioned the EFCC, which through discreet investigation
recovered $23,886 USD. The agency is in the process of repatriating the fund
to the victim.
419 Coalition Note: We are very happy that the EFCC was able to recover
and repatriate at least past of the losses of these 419 victims. However,
it is also fair to note that given both the historical and current billions
of dollars lost to the 419ers, only a relatively miniscule amount has been
recovered by the Nigerian government and repatriated to victims of 419. Even
in the relatively rare cases where 419ers are actually convicted and restitution
ordered, the overall performance of the Nigerian Government is dismal. A famous
case in point is the Odiawa case of about a decade ago, in which the 419er was
convicted, but in which no recovery was ever made, and no restitution ever paid,
though Odiawa stole Millions of dollars from he victim and was ordered to pay
a million plus in restitution - and the victim to this day has not received
one cent in restitution money through the EFCC or from Odiawa himself (who is
now out of jail and living happily ever after).
Here is the URL of the Press Release for as long as it is good:
https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/index.php/news/1148-love-scam-american-victim-lauds-efcc
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