Nigeria pledges 419 action to the London Action Plan

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 4 Nov 2005 at 12:39

The government of Nigeria has signed up to the London Action Plan to work with members from the other 26 countries represented to combat 419 scams that originate in the country.

From a UK perspective, the Nigerian authorities will be working with the Office of Fair Trading to combat the threat. Internet cafés in Nigeria and West Africa are now being closely monitored. The OFT recommends anyone receiving such email scams to report it to their ISP using the abuse@ispname email address, and victims actually defrauded should contact the police.

Nuhu Ribadu, the Executive Chairman of the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria, the law enforcement agency collaborating with the OFT to stop '419' scams at source said: '419 and other Nigerian variants of cyber crime, have done unquantifiable damage to Nigeria's image and credibility. The government has resolved to deal a fatal blow to the cyber crime networks operating from Nigeria and the West African sub region'.

Christine Wade, Director of Consumer Regulation Enforcement said: 'If you are targeted, recognise the 419 for what it is - an attempt to defraud you. Do not reply and do not give your personal details out. You are not about to become rich. These scams bear the hallmarks of professional criminals - use your common sense and don't become their next victim.'

419 scams are so called because of the Nigerian penal code they contravene. They arrive in victims' inboxes as emails purporting to be from someone with access to vast sums of money and a need to transfer it into an account outside the country of the sender. The subjects are often topical: one even surfaced following the July bombings in London, which 'offered' the recipient access to inheritance funds. However, these scams all involve paying up front fees beforehand or handing over bank account details.

The government has also recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft with the intention of working together to identify the sources of the scams and prosecute.