Nigeria's Latest Plan To Stop 419 Scams: Spy On Internet Cafes

from the further-underground dept

Every year or so, the Nigerian government announces that they plan to crack down on all those 419 scams, which many have said form a significant part of the Nigerian economy. However, the crackdowns never seem to get very far. The latest, though, is that they're actually looking to amend the "419 Act" (after which the scam is named) to finally take into account the fact that this scam has moved onto the internet (you mean, they just noticed?). Of course, the amendment requires all internet providers, cybercafes, mobile phone providers and financial institutions to register with the government and provide detailed records of who is using them for what purposes. Considering the extent to which the scammers go for these scams, all this is likely to do is drive them further underground. They'll just create "unlicensed" underground versions of all of these services instead. Rest assured, those emails from Nigerian princesses in distress will keep showing up in your email box.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2004 @ 10:40am

    ever thought about it ?



    What WOULD the GNP of Nigeria be without the 419 scam ?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2004 @ 10:41am

    Re: ever thought about it ?


    Nigeria should consider sending their spams ... err I mean emails to Italy if they want assistance in money laundering

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2004 @ 10:52am

    Re: ever thought about it ?

    A bushel of wheat and 2 asses.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2004 @ 11:04am

    Latest news release ....


    Regretfully, the economy of Nigeria has fallen apart due to the with drawl of the Nigerian 419 scam. At one point in the history of the Nigerian 419 scam an average American dolt could support 500 Nigerians from just ONE scam ! Nigerians are confident their economy will rise once a new and improved scam is invented & Americans continue to support such stupidity through their greed.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    fouad, 22 Dec 2007 @ 10:51am

    glensimon

    my wife fall for nigerian scam and after knowing she fall in love with him she is still sending him money is a verry weirred situation she fall in that fantazy word that he promess her that he has big properties in US but he is just stuck in Nigeria and he can`t pay his hotel so she start to send him all our money i was working away for 7 months i have give her the oportunity and time for that but i have never thought she will do that we have three kids now they are getting neglected and she put her self in a dark whole that she can`t not get out and she does not want any help and she seems verry happy wot she is doing the smart guy was supposed to arrive 4 months ago and everry week she send him money there is an excuse i find out as soon as i came back so there was a big fight between us ...etc the story is too long and is still going at this moment of time i need help but i can not get it any suggesions
    thank`s

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    charbel, 13 Apr 2008 @ 3:54am

    help

    i am going to help u get the 419 but u most reply me u most get for me tulls

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.