Global E-mail Scams Lure Victims

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: The caller identified himself as Barrister Fred Omoba and said he was representing Madam Rose Chimere. He was following up on an exchange of E-mails about transferring millions of dollars to my bank account on behalf of “Madam Rose,” as he called her.

Government red tape threatened to tie up her fortune, Madam Rose had written, and she wanted to find an offshore account to stash it. I would be well compensated for my assistance.

Imagine my good fortune. Not only was Madam Rose interested in sharing her wealth with me, but there were at least a dozen other E-mails in my folder promising to make me an instant millionaire.

Who needs the lottery? Anyone with an E-mail account is probably familiar with solicitations like the one from Madam Rose. In fact, you also may have received one from her.

These are examples of advance-fee fraud, or “419 fraud,” so-called for the section of the penal code that addresses fraud in Nigeria, where this scam is believed to have originated.

Although the stories seem preposterous, some people can’t resist these get-rich-quick schemes, beckoned by visions of early retirement, an easy way out of debt, or a life of luxury. Someone wants you to become a partner in a business venture, or to help a member of royalty or the aristocracy, a deposed government official or a grieving widow transfer assets to a bank account in your name to keep it out of some government’s hands.

All you have to do is pay “upfront fees” so that a bank account can be opened in your name and the funds transferred there. The trouble is, the scam artists keep coming up with additional fees, until they have cleaned you out of your savings - or until a light finally goes on and you realise that you’ve been had.

The FBI’s Internet fraud complaint centre estimates that victims of 419 fraud lose an average of $3,400 each. Advance-fee fraud has now spread beyond Nigeria to South Africa, Dubai and Iraq, among other countries. It is one of the most elaborate and lucrative Internet scams.

The scheme has been around for years, law enforcement officials say, originally in the form of letters or faxes. It has spread like a computer virus with the growth of the Internet.