Nigerian
Spam » Consequences
Consequences
Some investors have hired private investigators
in Nigeria or have personally travelled to Nigeria, without
ever retrieving their money. One American was murdered in
Nigeria while pursuing his lost money. In February 2003, a
scam victim from the Czech Republic shot and killed an official
at the Nigerian embassy.
Victims of 419 Advance Fee Fraud have little
recourse. Since 1995, the United States Secret Service has
been (somewhat) involved in combatting these schemes, however
they will not investigate unless the monetary loss is in excess
of 50,000 US Dollars. Very few arrests and prosecutions have
been made due to the international aspect of this crime.
A better track record is held by the South
African Police Services. Inspector Rian Visser has enlisted
the help of scam baiters to identify and track down scammers
that operate from South Africa and to inform the public about
advance fee fraud. So far there have been in excess of 100
arrests made (February 2005).
Apparently, the scams, while usually performed
by Nigerians, do not always originate in Nigeria. In 2004,
52 suspects were arrested in Amsterdam after an extensive
raid. An Internet service provider had noticed the increased
email traffic. However, out of these 52 none has been jailed
or fined to date, due to lack of evidence. They were released
in the week of July 12, 2004.
If you have been scammed, it is not advised
that you attempt to retrieve your lost money, since the chances
of any money being found, or returned, is extremely remote.
Also, the inherent dangers of continued contact with these
criminals are very great.
Recently, a new tier of scam-artists has arisen,
those that target previous victims of 419 Advance Fee fraud
by posing as Nigerian police, "Anti-Fraud Investigators"
or "Fraud Recovery Experts".
