Wow! Fabulous news for a beleaguered mankind!
Nigeria has actually ARRESTED and CHARGED some
419 scammers!
Normally, these malefactors are treated as folk heroes.
Transparency International on the 419 beat
"This month, five Nigerians have gone on trial in Nigeria's high court for taking part in what prosecutors say is the world's largest 419 scam.
"The defendants, including a housewife, a lawyer and a well-known businessman, are charged with tricking a Brazilian bank employee into paying $242 million of his bank's money to build a fictitious airport in Nigeria by promising him a personal commission of $13 million. (...)
"Since the 419 scam started in the early 1980s, its perpetrators have been worshipped as national heroes. They flaunted their wealth, their mammoth homes, their luxury cars, their European villas and their apparent immunity from the law."
Most every literate soul on the planet must
have seen a 419 pitch by now. In the meantime,
however, phishing scams are skyrocketing.
From the invaluable SANS security news service:
–Phishing Attacks Increased by 50% in One Month
(19 February 2004)
The Anti-Phishing Working Group found that there were 52% more phishing
attacks in January 2004 than in December 2003. 40% of the attacks used
the guise of the financial sector; 34% pretended to be retailers.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/32906.html
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/35635.html
http://www.gcn.com/cgi-bin/udt/im.display.printable?client.id=gcndaily2&story.id=25000
