Nigeria - 419 Coalition 2010 News on Nigerian Scam / 419 
Operations

8 MAR 2010
From the Nigerian newspaper ThisDay:

Nigeria, UK, US Partner on Cyber-crime Legislation

From Onwuka Nzeshi in Abuja

Experts in anti-cyber crimes and terrorism from the United Kingdom,
United States of America and other parts of the world will soon converge
on Nigeria as part of efforts to boost the capacity of the Nigerian
parliament in fighting the increasing menace of internet fraud and
terrorism across the globe.

Coordinator,   National Assembly Anti Money Laundering and Cyber
Security Coalition, Hon. Bassey Etim,  who disclosed this at the weekend
said  the experts will be meeting with strategic agencies such as the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) , Independent   Corrupt
Practices and other Related Offences commission (ICPC), Nigeria
Communication Commission (NCC), Education Tax Fund (ETF) as well as the
National Universities Commission (NUC)   to explore the extent of  the
problem in Nigeria  and map out strategies to combat it.

The choice of Nigeria for this event, Bassey said, was informed by the
preliminary statistics taken on the increasing level of cyber-crimes
across the world which revealed an alarming trend in Nigeria.
Bassey blamed the Nigerian situation on the absence of adequate
legislations on the subject but expressed hope that soon the story would
change for he better.

He disclosed that the experts in collaboration with the National
Assembly Anti Money Laundering and Cyber Security Coalition will assess
the electronic payment system recently adopted by the Federal Government.

This, he said, is  with a view to ascertaining the strength  and
weaknesses of the system  and ensure that remedial measures were put in
place to safeguard public funds  through a strong auditing platform for
the new payment system and other online transactions.

The  proposed conference on Anti Cyber crimes and Terrorism, he
disclosed,  is to educate Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on
how to protect government investment as well as government official
secrets stored online," he said.

Here is the URL of this article for as long as it is good:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=168045

419 Coalition comment:  We have always found it interesting that while
all the Governments involved in confabs like this always claim that the
cooperation and support of Non Governmental Organizations (NGO's)
are essential to counter-fraud and counter-419 efforts, we and many
other prominent NGO's (like Ultrascan, Fraudaid, 419eater) etc. are
never invited to these events.... much less sponsored to attend by
the governments and agencies that say they Need us and Depend
on us....  At least in terms of counter-419, many of the NGO's and their
personnel have been dealing with 419 Longer and more continuously
than many of the  governmental delegates to such conferences, and 
have amassed a considerable amount of expertise over such extended 
periods.  For example, here at 419 Coalition, we have been dealing with
419 on a daily basis since 1996, with some staffers direct daily work
on 419 matters going all the way back to 1992.  Surely that rates us
(and other prominent counter-419 NGO's) an invite to these confabs  :)

Additionally, just think of all the money 419 Coalition alone has saved 
the Nigerian, US, and other governments over the years in educating 
potential targets away from getting involved in 419 scams - on our 
Own dime, Free of charge to the Nigerian, US, and other governments.  
Pretty cost effective, that, for the taxpayers.  One would think that
the grateful Nigerian, US, and other governments could use some
of those saved dollars to sponsor us (and other NGO's) to attend 
these counter-419 conferences etc. 

But nooooo.... when the Governments of the world preach Cooperation
with the NGO's in counter-419 matters, what they really mean is that
We are to cooperate with Them, while they don't have to make any
tangible efforts to cooperate with Us :)  Did we hear someone out
there say... "Tunnel Vision"  or "counterproductive"  :)
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2 MAR 2010
From the Nigerian newspaper The Guardian:

EFCC detains American over $760,668 fake cheques

A twenty-four year old American lady, Sharon Denis Thorpe, has been 
detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for her 
alleged involvement in a scam valued at $760,668.

A statement by Femi Babafemi, head, Media and Publicity of the EFCC, said 
yesterday that Thorpe, a resident of Raleigh North Carolina, was arrested at 
the  Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Saturday, February 20,
2010, while about to board a Qatar Airways flight to Washington DC.

The suspect, who has an American passport No. 457647779 issued at North 
Carolina, United States, on December 30, 2008, had been in Nigeria since 
November 2009, ostensibly on vacation with her fiance, who is believed to 
be the mastermind of the crime.

Thorpe has, however, told her interrogators that the counterfeit cheques 
were given to her by a friend of her fiance who is at large.

Thorpe, arrested by officials of the State Security Service (SSS), was handed 
over to the EFCC on February 24, 2010. The suspect is being interrogated.

This story also appeared in the Nigerian newspaper Daily Independent,
and in the Raleigh, North Carolina News Observer - here is the URL
of that article for as long as it is good:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/01/364799/nc-woman-arrested-on-fraud-accusation.html?storylink=misearch
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21 FEB 2010
From 234next.com online Nigerian news:

Gunmen kill former aide to Nuhu Ribadu 

By Tunde Eludini

A former senior investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission 
(EFCC) Danjuma Mohammed was yesterday shot dead in the Gwarimpa area of 
Abuja. He was ambushed by gunmen as he returned home from a trip from Minna, 
Niger State.

Mr Mohammed, a Deputy Superintendent of Police and top aide of the former 
EFCC boss, Nuhu Ribadu, was responsible for several high profile cases during
Mr Ribadu’s leadership of the EFCC leading to landmark conviction of some 
corrupt government officials. He was until his assassination yesterday a deputy 
investigator at the Federal Inland Revenue Service. Mr. Mohammed was one 
of the first casualties of the power play in the EFCC when Farida Waziri took 
over the agency three years ago.

His assassination is the second against financial crimes investigators. 
In November 2009, Abubakar Umar, a lawyer and special assistant to 
Ahmeed Al-Mustapha, registrar of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), 
was killed and burned in his car in Abuja.

Police investigations are yet to yield any result.

Here is the URL of the article for as long as it is good:
http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5530276-146/gunmen_kill_former_aide_to_nuhu.csp
************************************************************

18 FEB 2010
From the Ghana Business News:

Nigeria at brink of another civil war, nation dragged down by 419 scams.  Intelligence report:

Nigeria is said to be at the brink of another civil war as clear and present danger signals 
show. The country went to war in 1967 in what is known as the Biafran war in which the Igbos 
sought to secede from the federal state.

An intelligence report by the Netherlands-based Ultrascan, which was emailed to 
ghanabusinessnews.com by its CEO Frank Engelsman says there are clear signs that 
Nigeria is gradually moving towards a major crisis.

In the report released Tuesday February 16, 2010 Ultrascan, a global investigation and 
intelligence organization which also focuses on corporate identity theft, credit, debit card theft 
and so on listed the following as the basis for the conclusion in the report: The report 
indicates that the crisis arising from President Yar’Adua’s absence has brought to the fore 
“the political battle over the delicate power balancing act in Nigeria.

According to the report the Chief of Army Staff Lt. General Abdulrahman Dambazzau has 
alerted the nation of overt and covert moves by military adventurists to interfere in the politics 
of the country.

The report cited the resurgence of violence in the Niger Delta, despite ceasefire agreements 
between the government and militia groups adding that the CIA and other European 
Intelligence Agencies have mentioned Africa as a large center of “recruitment” for the Al 
Qaida terror network.

The report links the 419 scam to Al Qaida and terrorism in Africa. It says between 2003 and 
2007 there was evidence of a terrorist connection in the slipstream of 419 Advance Fee 
Fraud networks (AFF), supporting attacks. In 2008 and 2009 there was evidence directly 
linking 419 AFF networks to (attempted) attacks.

In 2009 profits from 419 AFF organizations financed arms deals and the cross border crime 
networks were used to support transports.

During 2009 we received regular reports about extremist infiltrating southern Nigerian 
mosques as well.

Portraying the events in Nigeria as sectarian, tribal or economic it doesn’t really matter 
because AQ will portray it as massacre against Muslims only, it added.

The report pointed out how money laundering gangs also pose a threat to the most 
populous nation in West Africa. Nigeria has a population of over 150 million people.

Citing members of the Saraki family, the report said the younger of the Saraki sons, is a 
special assistant to President Yar’Adua. Though still not officially into politics, Laolu, 
according to insiders, was part of the team that toured the country with President Umaru Musa 
Yar’Adua. Many believe Laolu is being groomed for a top political office come 2011 like his 
elder siblings, Senator Gbemi Saraki and Dr. Bukola Saraki, governor of Kwara State, it said.

It seems that the friends Laolu Saraki, Obaro Ibru (son of the troubled former MD/CEO of 
Oceanic Bank Plc, Chief Mrs. Cecilia Ibru) and Kojo
Annan (the son of ex-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan) are having their best of party time in 
South Africa and The Netherlands, the report said.

It however noted that intelligence sources report the real purpose of their travels to 
Johannesburg, Cape Town, The Hague and Amsterdam. As a key player, Laolu Saraki is 
linked to money laundering, drugs trafficking to South Africa and the purchase of arms 
shipments for extremist groups, AQ Africa.

According to the report, further intelligence surveillance started in July 2009 in Johannesburg, 
Amsterdam and The Hague established that their Personal Assistants and girlfriends are in 
fact cohorts for Laolu Saraki in 419 frauds and prostitution.

It revealed that in July 2009, surveillance was instigated by interceptedn communications 
and suspicious events and activities of both Laolu Saraki and Kojo Annan in Amsterdam 
during the summer of 2008.

More details can be found on Ultrascan’s site.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

Here is the URL of the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2010/02/18/nigeria-at-brink-of-another-civil-war-nation-dragged-down-by-419-scams-%E2%80%93-intelligence-report/
**************************************************************

17 FEB 2010

From PC World magazine, brought to our attention by
Utrascan and also by a concerned Nigerian:

US Jury Convicts Nigerian on Wire Fraud Charges

Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service

A 31-year-old Nigerian man could face up to 20 years in prison after being convicted 
Tuesday of charges related to running advance free fraud scams for five years, according to 
the U.S. Department of Justice.

Okpako Mike Diamreyan lived in Nigeria, Ghana and the U.S. between August 2004 and 
August 2009, running scams that involved sending e-mails and making phones calls in order 
to perpetrate advance free fraud (AFF).

The scams try to entice victims into sending money with the false promise they'll receive a 
greater sum of money in the future.

Diamreyan posed as a government or bank official, sending fake documents to victims in 
order to persuade them to send money via money transfer services such as Western Union. 
Prosecutors alleged "numerous" victims sent money to Diamreyan, both directly and 
indirectly.

Diamreyan is scheduled for sentencing in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut on 
May 7. He could also face a fine of $250,000 for each of three wire fraud counts, the DOJ said.

Advance fee fraud scams have existed for many years, but fraudsters have been able to 
canvas an ever-increasing number of people using spam e-mail. The type of scam is also 
known as 419 fraud, named after part of the Nigerian criminal code that deals with fraud. 

Advance fee frauds are believed to be a multi-billion dollar industry, but prosecutions are 
rare. Technology companies such as Microsoft and Yahoo have filed some lawsuits due to 
the use of their brands in a version of the scam that falsely informs potential victims they've 
won a lottery run by the companies.

The top three countries for AFF losses in 2009 were the U.S. at $2.1 billion, U.K. at $1.2 billion 
and China at $936 million, according to figures released last month by Ultrascan, a Dutch 
private investigations company. The figures are estimates based only on the cases 
Ultrascan has seen, and the actual fraud figures are likely much higher, according to 
Ultrascan.

Here is the URL of the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/189541/us_jury_convicts_nigerian_on_wire_fraud_charges.htm
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21 JAN 2010
From the Saskatoon (Canada) StarPhoenix newspaper:

Fraud nets 30 months in jail 

By Betty Ann Adam, The StarPhoenix

A Montreal man who brought a satchel full of fake money to Saskatoon was 
sentenced to 30 months in jail after astute bank employees warned a local 
woman to call police instead of handing over $30,000 in cash. 

Yiuiti Hugues Tomdio, 31, will also be deported to his home country of 
Cameroon after pleading guilty Jan. 14 to the indictable offence of fraud 
over $5,000. 

The woman, who is in her mid-50s, fell "hook, line and sinker" for the 
what's known as the Nigerian e-mail scam, Crown prosecutor Paul Goldstein 
told Judge Doug Agnew. 

The woman had come to believe a distant relation she had met once years 
before had died and bequeathed her a legal briefcase containing $12 million 
in American $100 bills. 

All she had to do was pay a courier $50,000 from the bag when he brought it 
to her at the Saskatoon airport, Goldstein said in an agreed statement of 
facts. 

The attempted fraud was perpetrated starting in May 2009 and continued 
through the summer with phone calls and written correspondence that 
culminated in the Sept. 15 arrival of a man, later identified as Tomdio, at 
the John G. Diefenbaker Airport. 

The woman met him there and used a lock combination she had previously been 
given to open a legal briefcase carried by Tomdio, who used the alias 
Hamilton Marden, she later wrote in a statement to police. 

The combination was 0000, Goldstein said in an interview. 

The man allowed the woman to open the case and look inside, but did not 
allow her to touch the contents, which appeared to be bundles of $100 bills 
in American currency that were wrapped in cellophane, Goldstein said in 
court. 

The man withdrew one of the bills and gave it to the victim, who was then 
allowed to take it to an airport business to verify it was genuine. 

The man told her there had been a change of plans and rather than her paying 
him in cash from the bag, she was to give him $30,000 in Canadian funds. 

She was instructed to get the cash and bring it to him the next day. 

The woman went to her bank and tried to withdraw the money, but an employee 
became suspicious and advised her to notify the police. 

"Why do they suddenly need the money up front?" the woman wrote in her 
police statement that day. 

"At this point, I can use your help to check this out if it is real and get 
the package away from Mr. Marden," she wrote. 

Police obtained a search warrant and arrested Tomdio, who was carrying the 
briefcase, at the airport the next day. The bundles of cash turned out to be 
bundles of blank paper with real currency on the top and bottom of each. 
There were 19 $100 bills in the bag. 

By that time, the woman had already received phone calls from another person 
who said the "courier fee" had been reduced to $11,000. 

"There's at least one other person involved in this," Goldstein said. 
"Essentially, right now they're pretty desperate to get the money and get 
out of there before Mr. Tomdio was arrested." 

The Crown was not able to say who else was involved. 

Police searched Tomdio's room at a nearby hotel and found a roll of 
cellophane. They also found a ledger book with the handwriting of at least 
three different people. There was a list of names with large sums beside the 
names. The victim's name was the last on the list. 

The e-mail scams no longer originate in Nigeria, Goldstein said. Most now 
originate in the Netherlands, where "relatively lax laws" make it difficult 
to prosecute such frauds, he said. 

"(The victim) unfortunately was the subject of her naivete and her greed," 
Goldstein said. 

"After the police showed her the fake money, the cut paper, she asked, 'Do I 
still get the $1,900?' " 

Defence lawyer Nicholas Stooshinoff asked the judge to impose a sentence of 
six to 12 months, time served, for the crime. He said Tomdio was also the 
victim of a man he met in a Montreal bar who offered him $2,750 to carry a 
package to Saskatoon. 

"He made a very foolish decision to go along with it," Stooshinoff said. 

Agnew rejected Tomdio's claim of ignorance. 

"This was not a mistake. This was a cold-blooded decision to prey on a 
gullible, unsophisticated person and it was purely through the vigilance of 
the bank employees that the scheme failed," Agnew said. 

Here is the URL of the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/Fraud+nets+months+jail/2466665/story.html

419 Coalition Note:  Kudos to the Canadian authorities and especially to the
alert bank employee who brought the matter to their attention!  However, it
is important to note that the Prosecutor is in error when he says that most
419 scams now originate in the Netherlands due to lax laws and counter-
419 efforts there...  this is simply not the case.  All 419 has, by definition,
a West African (primarily Nigerian) connection, and there are 419 cells in 
most countries, including the Netherlands.  Most 419 syndicates remain
based in West Africa (primarily Nigeria) regardless of the location of 
their cells.  Additionally, over the last several years the Netherlands has
done much better in combating 419er cells there, as shown in their project 
Apollo push of several years ago in which there were raids on and mass 
arrests of 419er cells operating from there.

Quite frankly, we see more evidence of 419 cells operating at least in
part out of the UK than from the Netherlands over the last few years,
at least in terms of the telephone numbers used in 419 solicitations,
though more Nigerian numbers remain used than any other.

On another point, It is also always important to remember that 419 
is a Subset of Advance Fee Fraud and is defined as advance fee 
fraud with a West African, primarily Nigerian, connection.  There 
is untold advance fee fraud that is Not 419, as if there is no West 
African connection, then it is not 419.  But all 419 is advance fee 
fraud.  Once again, 419 is a subset of advance fee fraud, rather than
vice-versa, sometimes there seems to be some confusion on that 
important distinction.