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Nigerian Police Crack Down on Scammers, Shuts Down Hundreds of Websites

Paul Lilly — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:45:00 -0500

Nigeria has long been a hotbed for scams - either that, or we've all made a terrible mistake by not wiring over thousands of dollars to unknown recipients for a multi-million dollar payout down the line. Believe it or not, people still fall for it, so we're pleased as punch that Nigeria's anti-corruption police force has stepped up to the plate with some major busts.

"Over 800 fraudulent email addresses have been identified and shut down,"Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) boss Farida Waziri said in a statement. "There have been 18 arrests of high profile syndicates operating cyber-crime organizations."

This doesn't mean you'll never see another Nigerian scam mail in your spam box, but hey, at least it's a start. And going forward, the EFCC feels pretty confident it can make a dent. Rather than rely on raiding cyber cafes and waiting for complaints to trickle in from the public, the EFCC said it is using smart technology in conjunction with Microsoft to actively track down fraudulent emails.

The EFCC hopes this is the just beginning. Working at full capacity, the crime unit believes it can forewarn about a quarter of a million potential victims within the next six months.

Image Credit: Flickr firoze shakir photographerno1

Proof that Email Scams Still Work: Woman Loses $400K

Paul Lilly — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:14:37 -0600

The internet has become a breeding ground for scams of all shapes and sizes, but perhaps none more popular (and thus more easily recognizable) than the email rouse of a long lost relative, government official, or bank employee holed up in Nigeria and needing your help in securing a large sum of money. There's really no need to go on because you've undoubtedly received variations of this scam in your inbox countless times and, well, it never works. Or does it?

Not only does the old Nigerian bit still lure victims, the scam claimed its biggest known payday to date thanks to Janella Spears who forked over a mind boggling $400,000. Despite the big payout, Spears still contends she isn't easily duped. After all, she works as a registered nurse, teaches CPR, is a reverend who has married many couples, and also learned sign language to communicate with her hearing impaired husband. So what possible spin could this common scam have come with that got a seemingly intelligent woman to take the bait? Nothing more than the mention of a grandfather.

The email promised $20 million to Spears, money which was supposedly left behind by her grandfather whom she and the rest of her family had lost contact with over the years. She states "So that's what got me to believe it."

Fair enough, if we're being generous, but consider that the scam started off by asking for $100, which Spears promptly paid. Following inevitable problems, Spears was again asked to send money, this time to the tune of $8,300. She paid again and the number kept escalating. During the course of it all, she would receive fake letters purporting to be from the President of Nigeria, FBI Director Mueller, and even President Bush, all of which warned the $20 million (which later jumped to $26 million) could fall into terrorist hands if she didn't keep sending money.

This all went on for two years, and in that time, her friends, family, and law enforcement officials tried to get her to stop. But instead of cutting her losses, Spears eventually cleared out her husband's retirement account, mortgaged the house, and took out a lien on her car.

So where does the $400,000 in payments rank on email scam scale? An undercover investigator who worked on the case described it as the worst example of the scam he's ever seen. We believe him.

Image Credit: Katu.com

The Little Vendor That Could - The Latest In the Mandriva vs Microsoft Saga

Mark Soper — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 21:34:31 -0600

Earlier this ~~Last~~ week, we told you about how a 17,000-seat deal for Mandriva Linux in Nigerian classrooms had been scuttled by Microsoft at the last moment. Well, the saga continues: according to the IDG News Service, the deal is still on.

USPF Pays for 11K Systems, Says Linux Stays

Although the contract calls for 17,000 computers and operating systems, the money isn't coming from a single pocket. The Nigerian Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) is paying for the majority of the systems (11,000), and a spokesman for USPF said "We are sticking with that platform," meaning Mandriva Linux.

TSC vs USPF Tug of War with a $400K Rope

Microsoft isn't going to give up on Nigeria. Microsoft's Nigerian product manager says that the folks from Redmond are negotiating a $400,000 deal with the Nigerian Technology Support Center for marketing activities once the Classmate PCs are switched to Windows XP Pro. TSC is in charge of the classroom computer deployment, and it's also the company that had tried to scuttle the Mandriva deal.

100K>17K, Everywhere

Why would Microsoft offer $400,000 in "marketing funds" on a 17,000 seat contract? The math, at first glance, makes no sense. However, dig a little deeper, and you discover that the stakes are much higher. After the first 17,000 systems are deployed, another 100,000 are part of phase two.

How Much for that OS in the PC?

Mandriva, on the other hand, is not making a ton of money on this deal, assuming it goes through. According to Dele Ajisomo, who owns Microbyte International, the West Africa representative for Mandriva, Nigeria will pay around $10/seat for each Mandriva license, including support.

Why Microsoft vs Mandriva Is Important, No Matter Your Preferred OS

If Mandriva finally wins out in Nigeria, it will be a major victory for Linux. So, why should Windows users care about a measily 17,000 seat contract, and whether the competitors are playing fair? As anyone who's been reading this blog (and comments) over the last few months knows, lots of Microsoft users (including me) want Windows to stop acting as if it owns users' desktops, want higher-quality software, and, in general, want the folks in Redmond to realize they work for us, the users, and not vice-versa.

The only way that will happen is if Microsoft has genuine competition on the desktop. Whether you call it MacOS X Leopard, Mandriva, Ubuntu, Fedora, or some operating system or distro that's yet to be born, doesn't matter. What does matter, whether you prefer penguins or Start buttons, GUIs or command lines, is that there's more than one choice. Choice leads to innovation - and that's good for everyone.