Nigeria scams 'cost UK billions'
Financial crime in the UK stemming from Nigeria involves "billions of pounds" but not enough is being done to stop it, a report has concluded.
Internet scams, credit card fraud and money laundering are going unchecked by governments in both countries, research group Chatham House says.
Here we go again another round of Nigeria bashing, the BBC is reporting that Nigerian scams is costing the UK "billions" while this morning's metro had the headline Nigeria scams cost £150 million a year.
Sometimes i wonder if the BBC has it in for naija, reading the full report i didn't see any proof of the so called "billions". It seems the BBC has thrown objectivity away and gone the trashy tabloid route when it comes to reports about naija.
Its not that i'm surprised, they did the same thing with the real story.
6 comments:
Ijebuman..Howz the baby..Hope all is going well!
Yes, I actualy heard this news on the BBC worldnews last night. What really disgusts me is that they have not given any credit to the efforts of the EFCC who are making waves against corruption in Nigeria. On the EFCC website, there are pictures Riabdu presenting a $4.4 million cheques to a chinese woman who was a victime of 19fraudsters!
Surely some credit needs to be granted to the efforst of Ribadu and his team. Such international acknowledgements would would be a positive encouragement to their efforts and even more so, show how Nigeria is attempting to deal with this.
Or maybe am just being too naive!
Regards
Sisioge
I wrote about this a long time ago
I recently read an article, where many Nigerians were upset about a series of stories done by CNN. The reason they were upset was because they felt that the story depicted that all Nigerians were corrupt. This made me reflect that there are many of out there - who when a fraud is discovered - seem to automatically classify it as being of "Nigerian" origin.
This evening, I came across a story from the Online Journal: "New version of Nigerian phishing e-mail scam promises jobs, riches, poker and great lunches" - which is essentially calling "phishing" a Nigerian scam. After reading it, I started to understand why Nigerians might find some of this offensive. To read the article: Click Here.
This inspired me to do a little digging.
Since I've done a little research on phishing, I decided to refer to the Anti Phishing Working Group and their most recent report (May), which coincidentally reported a "all-time" record of recorded "phishing attempts."
Nigeria isn't even listed in their "top-ten."
According to the APWG:
"In May, Websense Security Labs saw a continuation of the top three countries hosing phishing websites. The United States remains the on the top of the list with 34.1%. The rest of the top 10 breakdown is as follows: China 15%, Republic of Korea 8.17%, France 3.94%, Germany 3.38%, Japan 2.65%, Malaysia 2.59%, Canada 2.37%, Italy 2.02%, and Brazil 1.7%."
If the APWG is correct - then how could phishing be called a Nigerian scam?
Advance fee - which is also referred to as 419 - has taken on many forms and is a worldwide problem. A lot of it originates in Europe, Canada and even the United States. Lottery scams - which are one form - seem to be coming from Canada, or Great Britain and Romance scams from Eastern Europe are a big problem.
Recently one of the bogus tools; used in advance fee scams have been counterfeit, or altered money orders. People are tricked into cashing these items and wiring the money back to a "fraudster." According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - they are being produced (the counterfeit items) in Eastern Europe and West Africa. So far as the altered items - they seem to be produced in the U.S. Prison System and are used primarily in Romance Scams.
I did mention West Africa - but only as one source - and Nigeria is only one of the countries in West Africa. So far as the "other sources," we can look to points of origin that aren't even anywhere near Nigeria, including the United States.
Interestingly enough, what many term as "Nigerian Fraud," wasn't invented in Nigeria and can be traced back to 1588 AD - what what is known as the "Spanish Prisoner Letter."
Another fact - which many of us - fail to "recognize" is that Nigeria is doing something about their problems with fraud. In fact, some might argue that they are pursuing it more "aggresively" than in many of the other countries mentioned in this post.
In recent years, Nigeria has led a very public campaign against corruption within Nigeria. President Olusegun Obasanjo formed the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which has been extremely aggressive in fighting fraud in Nigeria. Recently, they were taken off a money laundering "blacklist" and for a list of stories - where they have made an impact - link, here.
There is little doubt that Nigeria realizes it has a fraud problem and that there are "good guys" over there fighting the "good fight."
So far as the rest of us - the next time we run across a scam on the Internet - perhaps we should take a deeper look at it's point of origin. Not only is it unfair to blame the world's fraud problem on Nigeria, but it confuses efforts to bring forth resolution.
Sisi Oge thanks, jr is doing fine.
The Guardian printed a list of the top 10 scams here http://www.guardian.co.uk/netnotes/article/0,,1403411,00.html
You'll notice the list has the Spanish lottery scam and the Canadian loan scam.
Considering all the noise they make about the Nigerian 419 scams, you'll think thats the only scam out there, but it is not.
some of the premises for these scams are so damn ridiculous it amazes me there are a greedy, moronic people out there falling for them. i say if you're dumb enough to fall for a $10,000 lettery win after you spend $5,000 from a complete stranger you deserved to have your money taken away coz obviously you don't have the good sense to use it wisely anyway :-)
some of the premises for these scams are so damn ridiculous it amazes me there are a greedy, moronic people out there falling for them. i say if you're dumb enough to fall for a $10,000 lettery win after you spend $5,000 from a complete stranger you deserved to have your money taken away coz obviously you don't have the good sense to use it wisely anyway :-)
I am happy that certain people share my point of view on this SCAM issue. I have been pissed several times, especially in chatrooms, when people accuse Nigerians of being Criminals. I don't waste time in pointing out to them that whatever we do we learnt from them. We only perfected it. Moreover, for someone who has lived in the US, scam is an every day thing. You looking in the classifieds, it is there. You turn on the TV, it's equally there. SCAM! SCAM!! SCAM!!! every where. Surprisingly enough, that extends into the financial system as well. They are constantly scheming up ways to make you part with your money every day. The question I always ask them is "why is nobody doing anything about" even when the Better Business Bureau says they are SCAMS? My conclusion is that "these people" cry foul only when they have been outwitted by their devices. Whenever they have the upper hand, nobody hears about it. Please, if you are a Nigerian in any country and the subject comes, please be kind in giving them your candid opinion. At least, let them know how you feel. That's my approach. I always tell them to go spend a month in Nigeria to experience what it feels like being there.
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