In 2013 Indians Lose $870 Million to 419 Scams - Study

According to a report of Ultrascan-Advanced Global Investigations, a Dutch financial intelligence organization, "419 scam" of Nigeria is one of the most infamous phishing email scams over there and India is one of the most affected countries as Indians were cheated of more than $870 million by scammers during 2013 alone.

Bgr.in published news on 21st July, 2014 quoting Frank Engelsman, Director of Ultrascan AGI, as saying that India is one of the five rising markets for Nigerian advance fee frauds (AFF, the technical christening of 419 conning).

The wicked scam sends emails to victims with a promise of big returns in lieu of an immediate down payment and the 419 scam gets its name from the postal code of a place in Nigeria where the scam originated.

The report reveals that there are around 4,700 active scammers in India alone which is 20-fold increase as compared to 2006.

India is not just home for growing number of those victimized but has also become a base for scammers attacking other countries. According to a report, 80% of money swindlers in India share overseas rings.

Engelsman says that Kolkata has emerged as a key 419 fraud centre.

Terror groups use such fraud as source of revenue as Boko Haram, the Nigerian al-Qaeda associate, is believed to using the 419 scamming for arranging funds.

Hindustantimes.com published news on 19th July, 2014 quoting Engelsman as saying that we stumbled on information related to money-laundering links with terrorists in Bangladesh and Kashmir.

The 419 fraudsters work the entire range of financial fraud which includes imaginary lotteries, fake auctions and fabricated service firms.

Globally, police caught staggering 78% of counterfeit checks which are created by 419 groups and India is one of the three largest bogus check-producing centers in the world.

Globally, US were the biggest loser related to these scams with Americans losing a whopping $2,310 million followed by China with $1,750 million and the UK with $1,210 million.

Ultrascan expects that AFF continue to grow in China and India because scammers are moving to East due to fast rate of economic growth in Asia.

» SPAMfighter News - 8/6/2014