Fraud 101: an introductory course on fraud detection (part one)

By Ilobi Austin

That the fight against fraud-online and off line, requires Public Private Partnership, is self-evident (check under the “finance” label in my blog to read about the cost of fraud). I will however, make my contributions in the area of electronic fraud.

This is due to the frequency with which one now receives unsolicited letters proposing assorted business covenant: from loans to “clandestine” sales of government owned assets through an arrangement that purports to keep the government in the dark; some are even about dead husbands or clients of some lawyers-just about anything with a dash of possibility.

I had before now written harshly against victims of such proposals, accusing them of greed, but have changed my opinion, after considering the difference in background and culture. Some and not all the victims, are from environments were a man’s words is as good as a drawn contract; due to their accustoming with the words and actions of their leaders been always at par; unlike our experience in Nigeria nay Africa, where the followers has been conditioned to mistrust their leaders in a deep-seated manner-a promise of improved service delivery, means exactly the opposite. Based on the fore-going, I apologise to anybody who might have been slighted by the aforementioned article. What everybody needs now is information on how to confront this phenomenon called fraud.

This I intend to do by analysing different fraud mails, I have received in recent times including the one called “chatting”. I will start with the last:


• Chatting: when some unknown fellow, engages you online, watch out! He will after passing himself of as an American working with an oil firm or any other fanciful and colourful organization; initially and quite reasonably, talk about sweet nothings for a couple of months before introducing the real object; which is that he has falling in love with you. No problem with that. But he will then inform you of his desire to visit you. That is when the racketing starts.

He will then ask for cash to obtain the necessary travel documents and as he makes progress, he will continue to ask for more cash to do one thing or the other, all supposedly related to the travel; he might along the line vie off into demanding for items like laptops.

NOTE THIS: You did not send the money into his account but through any of the money transfer agencies. Remember, he is a foreigner; being paid in dollars and therefore, quite naturally, ought to own a dollar account.

Anther thing you should note is that he works for a firm. So, it is very easy to get the web address of the company and enquire about him. But above all this is the fact that a foreign national working for an oil firm needs no financial assistance from anybody, for whatever cause. Their Nigerian counterparts, who earn considerable less and in the local currency, lives the good live.

More ways you can do a check on him is by calling the American or nation’s embassy, he claims to come from and finding out if he truly exist and then contacting him. There might be impersonation. Also, you can wait for him to introduce himself and then, ask for first, his photos-I mean photos not photo, then later, request for a web cam and when he introduces the “visit” angle, offer and insist on coming to meet him. Like the devil, he will fly away from you.

The above scheme is popularly referred to as “come and marry”, in local parlance and you the victim, maga.

• Sport: since it was made public that some Nigerians were making moves to acquire New castle football club in England, some chaps has been using the publicity generated by the story to design share sales schemes which they offer to the public.

Do this; note the country of origin of the promoting agency online. Go to the football authority site and use any of the addresses to contact somebody; enquire about the shares offer or alternatively, any of the newspapers circulating in the country. Better still, call the police. Everything is possible online. Just use your head.
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Ilobi, Austin D. social and event analyst writes from Warri. His other articles can be read and downloaded free from his blog: www.vibratingaustin.blogspot.com