Nigeria takes on 419
scam
Nigerian
President Olusegun Obasanjo said he would step up measures against
his country’s notorious junk mail conmen who swindle people around
the world of hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
The so-called 419
scam, named after an article in Nigeria’s penal code outlawing it,
has been so successful in the past 20 years that campaigners say it
is now the third to fifth largest foreign exchange earner in Africa’s
most populous nation.
"Let me sound a
note of warning to all those currently involved in any form of 419,
cyber and computer crimes," Obasanjo said while inaugurating a
presidential committee on junk-mail scams in the capital Abuja.
"The government
will step up measures against these criminal activities," he
said.
The fraud swindles
people around the world, who respond to junk e-mails promising them
a share of non-existent
fortunes. Obasanjo said the committee will recommend urgent steps to
deal with the scam and examine existing laws. He said the committee
would also consider setting up a new agency to deal with the crime.
The committee, which is headed by Obasanjo’s security adviser, has
two months to submit a report to the president.
Nigeria’s anti-fraud
agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has
arrested more than 200 people, including a federal lawmaker, since
May for junk mail scams. —PTI
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