You are here: Home » National » Nigerian online fraudster lands in police net
Nigerian online fraudster lands in police net
Thiruvananthapuram, DHNS:
The Kerala police have arrested a Nigerian national, a member of the notorious ‘419’ fraudsters or ‘Nigerian bank fraudsters’ who have duped several people in South India of crores of rupees through an email racket.
The 34-year-old Nigerian, who claims his name is Shaba Abdul Razak, was taken into custody at the Bangalore airport on Thursday after a month-long operation with the support of the police in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry. He was brought to Kannur and arrested on Saturday after two days of interrogation.
Disclosing this to newspersons in Kannur on Saturday, Inspector General of Police Tomin Thachankary said the racket had extracted at least Rs 3 crore from victims belonging to these states. Razak was arrested following investigations into a complaint lodged by Shareef, a non-resident Keralite working in Qatar and hailing from Valapattanam in Kannur.
The scam originated in an email message received by Shareef in February 2008 from a mail ID purportedly from the Bank of Africa. The sender informed Shareef that he had been chosen to inherit a fortune of $15 million left by a millionaire and that he should reach the African city of Burkina Faso to receive it.
When Shareef pleaded his inability to make the trip, he got a reply saying that a financial attorney had been appointed to oversee the transfer of the amount. A few email exchanges were enough for the fraudsters to win the confidence of Shareef and he was asked to send 29,500 euros through the Western Union Money Transfer as attorney fee.
According to Thachankary, Shareef sent them up to 80,000 euros from time to time believing the excuses they offered every time.
Two members of the racket, including Razak, even came to Shareef’s house with bundles of blackened US dollars and said this was done to avoid being caught by the customs officials. It was only then that Shareef grew suspicious and registered a complaint.
These types of emails are very common in the US. They come in various forms. One has to be on guard all the time. Never respond to these types of email.
Another type is a false job ad/Sales Ad where the perpetrator places a job ad or work from home and they want to send you money and asks you to send a portion back after deducting your fees. The check they send you is a bogus check. The bank will accept the check and after a few days after you have sent his portion back you find out that the bank has reversed the charges and you are left holding the bag.
This also happens when you place an ad for sale on various web sites. The perpetrator wants to buy the item without actually seeing it and wants to send you a check. THIS IS A WARNING.
Beware of all these SCAMS. THERE ARE PLENTY OF THEM ON THE INTERNET. BE SMART AND NEVER RESPOND TO THESE TYPE OF ADS.
What a "DUMB" Shareef! Some Nigerians can be as intelligent, shrewd and cunning as some discradeful Indians are--mostly the underworld community dealing drug, sex, arms, and what not!
Good catch the Indian Police and Airport Authority!
Tokyo, Japan
greed thats all i would say.how can anyone believe that somebody will leave millions of dollars for someone else unless i am related to ambanis or tatas.its people greed that lets this fraudsters to thrive.dont blame the fraudster blame the greed people.wake up and smell the coffee.
The 34-year-old Nigerian, who claims his name is Shaba Abdul Razak, was taken into custody at the Bangalore airport on Thursday after a month-long operation with the support of the police in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry. He was brought to Kannur and arrested on Saturday after two days of interrogation.
