billso.com

This article first appeared on my old blog at  http://www.bloglines.com/blog/wsodeman?id=38

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/internet/0,71387-0.html

“In Nigeria, we are always amazed that anyone could be so stupid as to respond to such an offer.” - Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

This article describes how a few Internet users have battled so-called “419” scammers.

These 419 scams are named after a Nigerian law that prohibits fraudulent financial transactions. While this is an old scam, it became associated with Nigeria in the early 1990s. Scammers mailed thousands of postal letters to addresses gleaned from paper membership directories. North America, Australia and Western Europe were frequent targets.

Typical 419 scams involve advance fee fraud, in which the scammer asks the recipient to receive or launder a large sum of money. The scammer often portrays themself as an innocent victim stranded in another country, and promises the recipient a percentage of the funds in return for assistance.

The 419 scam is a risky venture, but it only takes one or two paying victims to make this a profitable endeavor for a scammer. As the scam progresses, the scammer asks the victim to send money in advance, as a token of good faith. The scammer may send photographs, forged documents and other materials in an attempt to gain the vitim’s cooperation.

Most victims lose all of their money. An average victim loses around US$20,000, and estimates have placed losses at US$1.5 billion annually. (http://www.419eater.com/html/ethics.htm)

Victims find there is no easy way to pursue the matter across international borders. In rare instances, victims have travelled abroad to meet the scammer, sometimes with disastrous results.

As Internet use became more popular, scammers around the world shifted their efforts to e-mail. Internet e-mail, in its basic implementation, lacks systems to verify the identities of senders and recipients. An alarming number of Internet users assume that the “from:” address included in an e-mail message is authentic, despite the content of the message.

These 419 scams have become a significant source of “spam” or unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE). While most server-based filtering systems can detect 419 messages, scammers find new ways to get their e-mails delivered.

The people described in this article feign interest in a scammer’s proposition of quick wealth. The assumption is that the scammers will have less time to find new victims. Users sometimes post their correspondence with the scammers, including names, pictures and other information, in an attempt to shame the scammers and warn unsuspecting victims.

Does the good intent of the 419 “baiters” justify their activities? From the perspective of the scammers, the baiters are engaging in fraud. One might also question the cultural and moral implications of baiting.

See Chapter 13 for a good discussion of ethics in IT, and chapter 14 for an examination of global issues.

These web sites have additional information on advance fee fraud. Snopes.com is an excellent site that debunks urban legends and hoaxes. In the United States, the Secret Service maintains a page about these scams. The third link is a cache of the Secret Service site.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/scams/nigeria.htm
http://www.secretservice.gov/alert419.htm
 http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=3869416205478&lang=en-US

The other three sites feature the work of baiters. If you are easily offended, please avoid these sites.

http://www.aa419.org
http://www.419eater.com
 http://www.419baiter.com