The term '419' is used to describe a type of scam where the victim is led to believe there is a large sum of money, gold or diamonds held in an account and the holder of the account is now deceased.
There are many variations of this scam, but typically, someone impersonating a banker, widow or child of the deceased appeals for help in claiming the money in an account and offers a percentage on completion of the transaction. The majority of 419 scams originate from Nigeria, although they may come from anywhere.
A few years ago, Internet cafes began appearing on the streets of Lagos, Nigeria's economic center, and Abuja, its capital since replacing Lagos in 1991. While these cafes are relatively expensive, they still opened up the Internet for a number of people who couldn't afford a computer and a connection, while also afford these same individuals a certain amount of anonymity. Since that time, the number of 419 scam emails emanating from Nigeria has surged, leading one sharp wit to post a website for the fictitious University of Nigeria (1) offering such courses as; "Macro Economics 101." Learn how to leverage your success with the economy of scale that mass email marketing provides." And; "History and World Events 400" Many years ago, the United States started a special group to help encourage the growth of the Nigerian economy. It was called ARPANET and is the foundation for the Internet and our current economic prosperity."
This may not be far from the truth considering the consistent pattern these scams present. One can imagine a sort of Fagin character straight from Shakespeare recruiting likely lads. Consider also that a scammer has to have at least a rudimentary grasp of a second language, a knowledge of computers (including anonymous email), a decent cellphone and a well developed script to follow in addition to having enough money to use the cafes and grease the palms of government, police and security forces (2). This means these lads are several steps above the Lagos street society where gangs of toughs walk their hyenas on heavy chains. Quite a few younger scammers seem to work their way up from simple Internet messenger scams, which involve exploiting ostensibly romantic connections to score enough cash to get themselves set up for bigger game where a lucky hit brings in thousands.
How lucrative is it?
"It has been estimated that some US$5 billion has been stolen worldwide through the use of these schemes over the past decade.(3) "One Japanese businessman is said to have lost US$5 million in this way (United States Secret Service 1997).Between August and November 1998, Australia Post (in Sydney alone) confiscated 4.5 tonnes of advance fee correspondence which had counterfeit postage, amounting to approximately 1.8 million items (Holmes & Kaufmann 1998)." (4)
Bait a Mugu
In response, a number of people have taken up "baiting" the 419 scammers. The purpose of baiting is to string the scammers along to waste their time and resources while temporarily diverting them from other potential victims. The baiters refer to a scammer as a "Lad" or a "Mugu", which is a term the scammers use themselves to refer to a victim, and it means "stupid fool". Most mugus seem to be male, and although initial contact with a female isn't exactly uncommon, most will hand you off to a male solicitor or banker.
Some baiters have elevated this exercise in social engineering to high comedy and post the transcripts for all to enjoy along with "Trophies" such as outrageous assortments of forged documents, pictures of mugus with fish on their heads or holding signs of the baiter's choice. In the case of the "Church of the Painted Breast", the mugu converted to a new religion, and the associated picture shows him with a red circle painted on his bared chest.
A baiter will try to maximize the amount of money a mugu is forced to spend: Internet time, phone calls to expensive numbers, trips to distant places, photos and anything else they possibly can, meanwhile getting them booted by free email providers or causing dissent among the lads. One hilarious case involved several baiters working together where the "victim" was purportedly an American relying on his business savvy Scottish brother-in-law to handle the finances. The Nigerian mugu had to employ the services of a shady security firm to handle a cash transfer in Scotland during which the security runner was set up and photographed. While the transfer never really happened, the baiters used the photos and some creativity to convince the mugu the runner made off with the cash while at the same time alerting the authorities and providing some great evidence.
The "Holy Grail" of the baiters is to get the mugu to actually send them money! They play on the same sense of greed the mugu is hoping to find in a victim, thereby turning the tables. You have to read some of the transcripts to get an idea how funny baiting can be!
Sadly, getting any sort of criminal case prosecuted against these scammers is difficult, if not impossible, especially in Nigeria. However, some countries take offense to scammers within their borders if the proper evidence is there. Most baiters realize this and focus their efforts on entertainment and educating potential victims, though there seem to be a few who will crack mugu's email accounts for information or take out sites hosting dummy banks if the authorities won't.
IP lookups point overwhelmingly to the Lagos and Abuja Internet cafes and since the technology to block at least this obvious source is readily available, it remains an open question as to why the Nigerian government hasn't put a stop to it.
Above all, remember this: if you're tempted to send any money to a mugu, IT IS A SCAM! If the Email comes from somewhere other than Nigeria, IT IS A SCAM! If the.... IT IS A SCAM!
If you're tempted to bait a mugu, work out a well crafted cover story in advance, consider your security and privacy well and prepare yourself. Read everything my suggested sites have to offer and above all have fun!
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Some relevant and interesting links include:
- Bait a Mugu (http://baita.mugu.co.uk/)
- The Nigerian letters of J. Cosmo Newbery (http://sweetchillisauce.com/nigeria.html)
- Scamorama (http://www.scamorama.com/)
- What's the Bloody Point? (http://www.whatsthebloodypoint.com/)
- 419eater (http://www.419eater.com/)
- The Special Operations Department (http://www.freewebs.com/ladyagatha/index.htm)
References:
- (1); University of Nigeria. (http://www.universityofnigeria.com/) Selections from their "Courses" page. Accessed 07/18/2005.
- (2); Onuora, Uche. "The Death of a Nation's Aspirations and the Corruption of her Reputation" September 9, 2004. (http://www.dawodu.com/onuora11.htm). Accessed 07/18/2005."It has been a long-running open secret in Nigeria that as long as you settle the powers that be, either in the security agencies or political leadership, then you are free from worries about repercussions. In fact, apart from the EFCC (under the leadership of the incorruptible Nuhu Ribadu), which has done a tremendous job of fighting 419 with little or no resources, the rest of the Nigerian anti-corruption fight can be deemed a farce. To put it more bluntly, the EFCC is out of place in an otherwise complicit (either by omission or commission) society. What is attainable is a situation where it (the EFCC) is fighting with both hands tied behind its back, as the legal system is outdated and is skilfully manipulated to perfection, by financially liquid 419 barons bent on avoiding consequences and punishment."
- (3); Graycar, Adam. Director.Australian Institute of Criminology. (http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/ti121.pdf) Accessed 07/18/2005.
- (4); Holmes,Michael N. and Kaufmann, Philip et.al."issues in crime and criminal justice No. 121". (http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/ti121.pdf) "Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud" Accessed 07/18/2005.
This article was originally published by CyberArmy.net in the CyberArmy Library.
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