back to article Operation Eagle Claw nets 18 Nigerian spammers

Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is promising to push the country out of the top ten for fraudulent emails thanks to arrests and proactive action to scan all emails. So far "Operation Eagle Claw" has seen members of 18 syndicates arrested and 800 scam websites shut down. The success was revealed by chairman …

COMMENTS

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  1. Nigel Callaghan

    Hah!

    The press release is obviously a scam - only 419ers use the word 'modalities'!

  2. Michael 3
    Alert

    Hang on a minute...

    "Further it is projected that advisory mails to be sent to victims and potential victims will be about 230,000 monthly."

    Don't 419ers sometimes send emails pretending to be from the police or other official looking into the victim being ripped off? How will victims be able to tell the difference?

  3. Number6

    On the list?

    Have they caught Mrs Abacha yet?

  4. Paul Rogers

    Mrs Farida Waziri continued....

    "All we are need to keep operations eagle claw to run is £10,000 (TEN THOUSAND BRITISH POUNDS) which we hope you will give us this aid. In return we will fund your bank account with £1,000,000 (ONE MILLION BRITISH POUNDS). Thanks you for your help in this delicate matter, may Allah bless your children

    Mrs Farida Waziri"

  5. Cthonus
    FAIL

    Unspam fail

    "Further it is projected that advisory mails to be sent to victims and potential victims will be about 230,000 monthly"

    So... for every one of those 419s that ends up in my spam trap I'll get another email from the powers that be telling me that the previous mail was spam and to delete it.

    Not going to be much better off at the end of the day, are we?

    LOLZ

  6. raving angry loony

    Oh rly?

    Hello dear friend,

    My name is Farida Waziri. I am head of the Nigerian Anti-Scam force. We have found your name on $1,250,000 of recovered money that we would like to return to you. In order to have this money returned to you, please send $250 for administration costs to...

    Shut down? I don't think so. Slowed down? Barely.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Advisory messages?

    > Further it is projected that advisory mails to be sent to victims and potential victims will be about 230,000 monthly.

    Dear Potential Fraud Victim,

    My name is Inspector Joseph Ngombie and I head of Nigerian State Police Electronic Crime Unit. I write you because email address of you was found on computer seized up on Police raid last month. You may be victim of fraud consequently and I urge you take care online electronic speaking and financial transacts.

    If concerned or require more informations, please click following link and provide details: FIRSTNAME, MIDDLENAME, MIDDLEINITIAL, SURNAME, ADDRESS, TOWN, CITY, ZIP, DOB

    so my Constable can confirm you.

    <www.cleanmeout.ru>

    Yours faithfully,

    etc

  8. Simon 32
    FAIL

    Too little, way too late?

    At www.justlanded.com we shut down more than 5,000 email addresses a month from Nigeria, we even fit in time to do the same for Senegal... too little for them to be shouting about. Love to know what 'fine tuning the modalities with Microsoft' is all about. If Microsoft, Yahoo and Google were actually serious about this stuff they would be turning off that many spam emails an hour.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Terminator

    Operation Eagle What?

    The ONLY way to be sure to get them ALL is to nuke 'em from orbit.

    "hello, you don't know me but I am one of the few survivors of the 500 megaton attack on Lagos which put the 419 crowd out of business for half an hour last year - remember that cockroaches are immune to radiation - anyway, I have this huge box full of US $100 dollar bills which only glow in the dark a little now, and if you can send me a good faith deposit, god bless, I will ship the money to you posthaste, and offer you the hand of my adopted daughter in marriage as well . . ."

    Targeting . . . target acquired . . . ready for launch . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . launch sequence initialized . . .

  10. David Webb
    Joke

    New angle!

    My dearest friend, I hope I find you by grace of God well! I am Mustafa Phish from Operation Eagle Claw. As you are no doubt aware from your studious readings of such high profile web sites as The Register, Operation Eagle Claw has snared 800 people who would do harm and attempt to steal your monies! As the operational chief executive of Operation Eagle Claw I have managed to obtain $500,000,000 in funds from the accounts of these peoples and wish to move the monies out of the country. I am willing to share with you the sum of $10 million (dollers 10 million) for assistance in this confidential matter.

    Yours

    Ibe Laffin

  11. Anonymous John

    800?

    Websites or email accounts? Only a very small proportion of Internet scams involve fake sites.

    Does Mrs Waziri know the difference?

    800 sites would be impressive. 800 email accounts less so.

  12. Elmer Phud
    Pirate

    variation?

    As part of our investigations in to internet fraud we looked at several potentially fraudulent emails that were directed to yourself. Following investigations there were several arrests and we would like to thank you for your participation in the successful outcome.

    Substantial rewards have been awarded following numerous convictions and you have been highlited for special merit owing to the way your emails led to many of the criminals involved who have now been incarcerated.

    To collect this not insubstatial sum and ensure your proper renumeration we will require a few basic details in order to transfer the money to your own bank account.

  13. Kevin McMurtrie Silver badge
    Grenade

    Need a backhoe icon

    It's amazing that anybody still accepts mail from Nigeria. For me, fake telco contacts = firewall.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Hello. My name is kete'Kete'

    i am writing to inform you that we have intercepted a email addressed to you via the new Nigerian Email fraud interception division of the state police.

    In order to ensure that this is a legitimate email plese send us a fixed fee of £10.00 great brtish pounds via PAyPla or go to the following web site:

    htpt:\\nigerian.state.ploice.email.trafficing.enforcment.division.gov.ni

    so that we may forward this intercepted email to you.

    the fee is mearly a handling fee to ensure your saftey in our efforts to stamp out these evil nigerian penal code 419 scammers.

    yours faithfully

    Mr. kete'Kete' Groomer

  15. Fatman

    Operation "Eagle Claw"

    Now, if the operation actually did what an eagle does. It swoops down on its unlucky prey and flies off with it.

    May I humbly suggest that your Operation "Eagle Claw" take these miscreants, and fly them about 1000 miles out into the ocean, and just drop them from an altitude of about 40,000 feet.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Hah! I just got this in my email!

    Dear sir/ madam,

    I am Mrs. Shirly Dumbell, from World Bank fraud alert and fund settlement center London Branch, We have been working hand in hand with the fraud investigation department of both Nigeria and America to make sure fraud gets to an end in this global economy century.

    Due to our investigation, we have found out that the reason for you been scammed is because of your contract payment in Nigeria, you have been dealing with wrong people/ office concerning such matter. We bring to your notice today to stop further communication and scam activities

    Since the problem is your contract payment, we are working hand in hand with the Office of the Presidency Nigeria to make sure scam stop and all beneficiaries receive their fund. So if you are one of those who have not received their fund kindly get back to us and let us know so that we will work on how to send your contact directly to office of the presidency where they will approve you and transfer your fund.

    Let me warn you, all those people you are dealing with are scammers and office of the presidency Nigeria do not know anything about it and without office of the presidency your fund can not be transferred, so kindly get back to us let us direct you on how to get in touch with them directly.

    This email is for your own benefit if you can obey and reply to us.

    Yours truly,

    Shirley Dumbell

  17. Nater
    WTF?

    Eagle Claw?

    Wasn't 'Operationg Eagle Claw' the code name for the overly complicated, horribly failed attempt to rescue the Iranian-held hostages in 1979? Hopefully this mission wasn't planned by committee as well.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    @ Nigel Callaghan

    "The press release is obviously a scam - only 419ers use the word 'modalities'!"

    Only a 419er would use the name Nigel!

    (Sorry - to easy of a target.)

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Gates Horns

    Operation Eagle Claw

    I hope our friend Prince Obi came out ok.

  20. Andus McCoatover

    @fatman.

    "May I humbly suggest that your Operation "Eagle Claw" take these miscreants, and fly them about 1000 miles out into the ocean, and just drop them from an altitude of about 40,000 feet"

    Nah. Just give 'em wonderful opportunities to collect the money. In Rio. Then, give them a one-way ticket back on Air France 447. Brazil -> Paris. Half-price. Or, however far it got.

    As Winnie-the-Pooh said, [nigerians - jagulars - whatever] are really good droppers.

  21. Charles Smith
    IT Angle

    Oh no!

    Does this mean I won't get my $15,000,000 after all? The Reverend was such a nice guy too. Maybe if send him another $5000 he will find a way to dodge Operation Eagle Craw

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    Losing Money

    I think the best part of this story is that the Police are probably going to be the ones losing money this time - "The Nigerian police are working with Microsoft..."

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