Spam culture, part 3: Nigeria (and 419 scams)

This week on Security Levity... the third in a series of posts about spam in different cultures. This time: Nigeria, home of the 419 scam.

Advance-fee fraud come-ons: we've all received them. Typically, badly-worded invitations to help a bank teller "liberate" money from a forgotten bank account. Variations include the U.S. soldier who's uncovered a secret cache of gold, and even a fictitious United Nations scam-victims' compensation fund. The basic idea is to gradually draw you into a web of lies, play on your greedy appetite for easy money, and then hit you for some "expenses"... or worse.

These 419 scams are generally thought of as "Nigerian" -- indeed, the "419" refers to the eponymous section of the Nigerian criminal code (Any person who by any false pretence, and with intent to defraud, obtains from any other person anything capable of being stolen, or induces any other person to deliver to any person anything capable of being stolen, is guilty of a felony.) However, 419 isn't unique to Nigeria or Nigerians.

This criminal practice has spread to fraudsters in other African countries, such as Côte d'Ivoire, South Africa, and Ghana; and further afield to Russia and The Netherlands. In many ways, 419 is a variant of the classic Spanish Prisoner scam -- and as Click & Clack would say: by "classic" we mean... "old".

These scams are now firmly part of our popular culture; for example, Sony's recent television advertisement portrayed a spokesperson who quipped, "You can't believe everything you read on the Internet, otherwise, I'd be a Nigerian millionaire by now."

Unsurprisingly, the Nigerian federal government wasn't impressed by Sony's stereotyping of its country. The Minister of Information and Communication, Prof. Dora Akunyili, was quoted in a statement saying, "Nigeria remains a major investment destination and a country where most businesses thrive in trust, good faith, competence and integrity. Nigeria also demands an unconditional apology from Sony Corporation." (Good luck with that demand, Professor.)

To demonstrate how 419 is embedded in Nigeria's culture, look at Nkem Owoh's popular song, "Oyinbo, I Go Chop Your Dollar", in which he sings about stealing money from greedy mugu (victims). He sings these pidgin words, "419 no be thief, it's just a game; Everybody dey play em ... I go take your money and disappear, 419 is just a game, you are the loser, I am the winner."

Some people interpret Owoh's song as openly celebrating 419, but others defend it as a warning to potential victims. An often-overlooked fact is that it's actually a comedic song -- the theme from the Nollywood movie comedy, The Master. Nevertheless, the song was banned in Nigeria, presumably as part of a government drive to clean up Nigeria's image.

While it's true that Nigeria is not alone in being a source of Internet fraud, it's clear that scams and corruption are a fact of life in the country. A point of view held by some Nigerians is that all is fair in love and war. The reasoning goes: if wealthy foreigners are stupid and greedy enough to fall for the shenanigans of a Yahoo boy sitting in an African Internet cafe, then they're fair game.

(Lest I be accused of stereotyping, I should clarify that I'm talking about a small minority of the population -- most are sane, law-abiding people. However, we're talking about relatively recent democracies, and attitudes don't change overnight.)

As in several other developing nations, there are also Nigerian voices complaining about their treatment by bodies such as USAID, the IMF and the World Bank. Not to mention the alleged activities of the NSA. These complaints only contribute to the feeling some have that 419-style criminal acts are justified.

However, Nigeria's fledgling democracy isn't sitting idle. It now has its own law enforcement agency dedicated to investigating 419s, money laundering, and other fraudulent activity: the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The EFCC has been active in prosecuting government officials and bank executives, and continues to seek alleged 419 "boss men", such as Adegbulugbe Adetunji James.

Just last week, the EFCC announced that its Project Eagle Claw has so far shut down 800+ scam Web sites and arrested members of 18 scam syndicates, with the lofty goal to "take Nigeria out of the top 10 list of countries with the highest incidence of fraudulent email."

It's difficult to predict how much of an impact the EFCC will have on the problem. Web sites shut down can easily re-appear, and arrests need not equate to jail time. However, the EFCC is also succeeding in fighting other types of corruption, so I remain hopeful.

 
This has been the third in a series of posts about how different cultures view spam. Let me know if there are other parts of the world that you're interested in.

I want to make this an interactive place: where I can answer questions and cover topics that you suggest. Feel free to add comments and ask Amir!
 
 
When he's not helping protect the world from Yahoo boys, Amir Lev is the CTO, President, and co-founder of Commtouch (NASDAQ:CTCH), an e-mail and Web defense technology provider. MORE...