Nigerian 419 scams: Your questions answered

By now many of you will have read our coverage of the Nigerian 419 email scams.

It all started when we published an email conversation between silicon.com's Will Sturgeon and one such scammer - the now infamous Mr Madu Frank. Since then we have been inundated with emails from you, our readers, about this story.

Here Will answers many of the questions which you've been asking:

Steven Abrams asks: Why are these scams called 419?
The number 419 refers to the section of Nigerian law which covers these kinds of scams.

Robin Curtis asks: Is there anyone out there trying to shut down these scams - can we usefully forward the emails somewhere?
Sadly this is not the easiest crime to fight. Those perpetrating it use temporary email addresses and mobile phone numbers - not to mention false identities. Fortunately in the UK we are better protected than most. UK law enforcement agencies are represented by the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) in their fight against this fraud. Last year NCIS helped secure the arrest and subsequent conviction of 36 individuals involved in 419 scams - 24 in Africa and 12 in the UK. However, there is still a lot more to be done. While ISPs all offer an 'abuse@' email address to report such attempted frauds, their determination to investigate reports of wrongdoing is mixed, to say the least.

Paul Stephens asks: "Why can't the ISPs proactively block this stuff?"
The simple answer is that they can. Of course some will slip through the net. But ISPs could put in place filtering systems which would stop outgoing and incoming versions of these 419 emails. The question is more "why don't the ISPs proactively block this stuff?" And the answer there is 'money'.

Geoff Sloan asks: "Do we think our ISPs have some duty of care over how we behave in relation to the contents of our inbox? If so, aren't we just looking for someone else to blame when we do something stupid?"
There is no commercial reason for ISPs to get involved in the fight against these frauds. To resource properly a department processing complaints and acting upon them would prove too costly and offer very little obvious return on investment. As such ISPs are making very little noise about these 419 scams. So legally, and commercially, there is nothing that can be done to force their hands, but morally I believe ISPs should feel an obligation to get involved. Even providing greater prominence on homepages to warnings about the threat these scams pose would be a step in the right direction. Sending similar warning messages to the scammers themselves - who become very flighty if they believe they are being traced or monitored - would help. Many seem to be under the illusion that they are being very cunning using webmail addresses, but ISPs such as Yahoo! could help dent their confidence with a series of simple messages. And let's face it - with advertising revenues for these ISPs still languishing, it would give them something to do with their banner ad spaces.

Ted Donohoe asks: "You do not mention lotteries. To collect a $6m lottery prize from a Netherlands source I was asked to send E4,000 upfront "as required by Netherlands law" for admin expenses. Who is screening these?"
The answers above are applicable to all email frauds - not just the 'Nigerian' emails. Basically the 419 fraud is the most infamous of a raft of email scams currently out there doing the rounds. And more will come along. Trying to stop attempted email fraud is a little like trying to hold back the tide, but as long as people are vigilant and remember that 'if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is' you shouldn't go too far wrong. It is more likely that people will stop replying to these emails than everybody sending them will get caught. By publicising the risks and by spreading the word we can hopefully at least cut off the supply of replies and funds for these criminals. They only do it because it is still worth their while.

Brian Cartwright asks: "I have been receiving these for a few years. However, they are now spreading throughout Africa. I now get emails from Nigeria, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Angola, Sierra Leone, Congo, and a few from The Farmers Union in Zimbabwe. Where next?"
These scams are moving out from their home in Nigeria. As you rightly say the whole of Western and Southern Africa now appears to be involved, as well as China. Edward Venning, a spokesman for NCIS, says this is because Nigeria has used up its "trust capital" - meaning it has become so synonymous with fraud that people of now suspicious of any email or offer originating from Nigeria. In response to this the scammers are choosing other countries to operate from.

Bernie Greene asks: "Do we really need to spend taxpayers' money in a futile attempt to protect the gullible and stupid?"
It's a good point and one which a great many readers have made. On the surface this is proof, if any were needed, that 'a fool and his money are easily parted', but in reality it is a very serious problem which does need to be stamped out. Last year NCIS dealt with 150 victims of this crime who had been tricked into handing over bank details and had lost money as a consequence. A couple of them were millionaires - and sympathy for them is particularly thin on the ground. The average amount stolen per person - boosted by the defrauding of said millionaires - was £56,675 - and these are the known cases. But however this money was extorted and however stupid the 'victims' have been, the problem is that this money is being used to fund drug trafficking and other serious crimes which have a direct impact here in the UK. Generally these fraudsters are part of much larger organised crime groups.

As long as there are people out there who fall for this then there are people who are unwittingly funding serious crimes. The individuals suckered into these scams deserve no sympathy, but it doesn't mean we should sit back while innocent lives are ruined by the drugs trade and other organised crimes.

Mike asks: "What is it about Nigeria? Why are there so many money scams originating from there?"
The email version of this crime is an updating of a Nigerian scam of old which used air mail, and then faxes, and can be traced as far back as the early seventies. How those got started I couldn't tell you - it may be as simple as one person trying their luck and striking gold and then sharing it word-of-mouth with friends and relatives. As such the scam would have grown quickly within Nigeria before it spread to other countries.

However, it's not just Nigeria that is involved in this kind of crime. The fraud is synonymous with the country because that's where it has its roots - but many other people of different nationalities have subsequently jumped on the bandwagon.

Do you still have unanswered questions about this scam? Then email editorial@silicon.com and we will endeavour to answer them.