(Last Updated On: September 7, 2020)

SCARSSCARS SCARS - Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. A government registered crime victims' assistance & crime prevention nonprofit organization based in Miami, Florida, U.S.A. SCARS supports the victims of scams worldwide and through its partners in more than 60 countries around the world. Incorporated in 2015, its team has 30 years of continuous experience educating and supporting scam victims. Visit www.AgainstScams.org to learn more about SCARS.™ Guest EditorialGuest Editorial A Guest Editorial is an article written by an outside contributor or author who is not a part of the SCARS Management or SCARS Editorial Team. We allow scam victims and stakeholders to contribute articles, commentary, or editorials for publication on RomanceScamsNOW.com for review and publishing. To submit an article please send it to contact@AgainstScams.org: Talking Law With Ivie Omoregie – What the Law Says About Yahoo Yahoo

A Nigerian’s View Of Scamming And The Harm It Does To Nigeria

By Ivie Omoregie, Reprinted from BellaNaija.com

A few weeks ago, the good people of Good Citizen Nigeria invited me on their platform to speak about the laws regulating Advance Fee FraudAdvance Fee Fraud An advance fee scam or fraud is a form of fraud and is one of the most common types of online confidence tricks. The scam typically involves promising the victim a significant share of a large sum of money, in return for a small up-front payment, which the fraudster claims will be used to obtain the large sum. If a victim makes the payment, the fraudster either invents a series of further fees for the victim or simply disappears. (Yahoo Yahoo) and the negative impact it has had on Nigeria’s international image.

Talking Law With Ivie Omoregie

The topic got me thinking about Advance Fee Fraud generally. Like me, many residents of Lagos will have at some point crossed paths with a big boy (sometimes girl) who was rumoured to have either started off as or is still deeply involved in Advance Fee Fraud.

This article aims to discuss some of the laws regulating fraudFraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain (money or other assets), or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compensation) or criminal law (e.g., a fraud perpetrator may be prosecuted and imprisoned by governmental authorities), or it may cause no loss of money, property, or legal right but still be an element of another civil or criminal wrong. The purpose of fraud may be monetary gain or other benefits, for example by obtaining a passport, travel document, or driver's license, or mortgage fraud, where the perpetrator may attempt to qualify for a mortgage by way of false statements. A fraud can also be a hoax, which is a distinct concept that involves deliberate deception without the intention of gain or of materially damaging or depriving a victim. in Nigeria and the effectiveness of the legal enforcement framework.

Why 419419 An advance fee scam or fraud (419 scam) is a form of fraud and is one of the most common types of online confidence tricks. The scam typically involves promising the victim a significant share of a large sum of money, in return for a small up-front payment, which the fraudster claims will be used to obtain the large sum. If a victim makes the payment, the fraudster either invents a series of further fees for the victim or simply disappears. The 419 comes from the Nigerian law against this type of scam.?

The term 419 actually comes from s.419 of Chapter 38 of the CriminalCriminal A criminal is any person who through a decision or act engages in a crime. This can be complicated, as many people break laws unknowingly, however, in our context, it is a person who makes a decision to engage in unlawful acts or to place themselves with others who do this. A criminal always has the ability to decide not to break the law, or if they initially engage in crime to stop doing it, but instead continues. Code Act, which deals with obtaining property by false pretences and cheating. The section reads:

“Any person who by any false pretence, and with intent to defraud, obtains from any other person anything capable of being stolen, or induces any other person to deliver to any person anything capable of being stolen, is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for three years.

If the thing is of the value of one thousand naira or upwards, he is liable to imprisonment for seven years.”

As we all know, over the years, the term 419 has now become a universally recognized term. Unfortunately, the entire world acknowledges that it originated from Nigeria and that it refers to fraud.

Other Laws Dealing With Fraud

Some other laws dealing with fraud include the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 as well as the Cyber Crimes Act 2016.

The Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 again makes it an offence for any person to obtain or induce to obtain by false pretence, with the intent to defraud another, whether in Nigeria or in any other country, property or a benefit of any kind, onto him or any other person. This law further goes on to prescribe sentencing guidelines of 7-20 years imprisonment for the successful conviction under this act.

As well as making the possession of fraudulent documents illegal, the act indicts possible accomplices needed for the commission of the offence, for example:

Owners or managers of premises who allow their premises to be used for fraud, punishable with 5-15 years imprisonment;
Any person who invites a foreigner into Nigeria with the intention to defraud said foreigner, punishable with 7-20 years imprisonment;
Individuals or corporate bodies who attempt to conduct financial transactions with the proceeds of unlawful activity are liable to a ₦1 million fine for the corporate body and 5-10 years imprisonment for the directors of such corporate body.
The Cyber Crimes Act 2016 deals more with cyber crimes holistically (i.e. critical national information, child pornography, identity theftIdentity Theft Identity theft is when someone uses another person's personal identifying information, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. In both the U.K. and the United States it is the theft of personally identifiable information. Identity theft deliberately uses someone else's identity as a method to gain financial advantages or obtain credit and other benefits, and perhaps to cause other person's loss. The person whose identity has been stolen may suffer adverse consequences, especially if they are falsely held responsible for the perpetrator's actions. Personally identifiable information generally includes a person's name, date of birth, social security number, driver's license number, bank account or credit card numbers, PINs, electronic signatures, fingerprints, passwords, or any other information that can be used to access a person's financial resources. etc.). However, the act touches on instances where fraudsters send electronic messages or hack into secure databases to misappropriate sensitive data.

The act was enacted to provide a unified legal, regulatory and institutional framework for the prohibition, prevention, investigation and prosecution of cyber crimes in Nigeria.

Before this act, there had been no specific statutory or regulatory regime in the country to deal with the alarming rate at which fraudulent activities were being conducted in Nigerian cyberspace.

By virtue of this act, Nigerian courts gained jurisdiction to attend to matters concerning offences consummated outside of Nigeria, as long as the crime has a Nigerian element and is illegal in the jurisdiction where it was committed. The act also promotes International Mutual Assistance, whereby the Attorney General of the Federation of Nigeria may request for, receive assistance from, or conduct a joint investigation with any foreign agency or authority with the sole aim detecting, preventing or prosecuting offenders under the act.

The Effectiveness of Legal and Enforcement framework

Some people argue that the main reason why an increasing number of Nigerians resident in Nigeria are engaging in advance fee fraud/cybercrimeCybercrime Cybercrime is a crime related to technology, computers, and the Internet. Typical cybercrime are performed by a computer against a computer, or by a hacker using software to attack computers or networks. is that they believe, due to a general lack of opportunities, it is a fast and easy route to raise the necessary capital to venture into the mainstream business world, thus regularizing their business affairs.

The reality of 419 in Nigeria is that there seem to be no legal ramifications. Whilst researching, I searched court records for either Supreme Court or even Court of Appeal judgments discussing advance fee fraud/cybercrime and there seem to be very few cases. This just made me wonder how many convictions there have actually been for advance fee fraud/cybercrime in the history of Nigeria, especially in light of the international perception of the country.

Generally, convictions for advance fee fraud/cybercrime have been in jurisdictions other than Nigeria. In Nigeria, what happens is that the suspects do the needful, that is, they “settle” the necessary officials. Thus, as long as one makes enough money to go around, the future is bright. I have even seen instances where these “businessmen” involve the police in their disagreements, on the understanding that the police will be entitled to 10% of the recovered proceeds of the outstanding debt.

Conclusion

I believe many Nigerians have now accepted advance fee fraud/cybercrime as a part of life and have now become de-sensitized to it.

Someone recently asked me if I would report a suspected fraudsterFraudster A Scammer or Fraudster is someone that engages in deception to obtain money or achieve another objective. They are criminals that attempt to deceive a victim into sending more or performing some other activity that benefits the scammer. to the police and in all honesty, I didn’t know what to say. On the flip side of things, another asked me if advance fee fraud/cybercrime was more damaging to Nigerian society than the corporate fraud being conducted by large organisations in Nigeria, and, again, I honestly didn’t know what to say. I guess there is a presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

About Ivie Omoregie

Ivie Omoregie is the Founding Consultant at Skye Advisory. Skye Advisory is a boutique business advisory firm with locations in London, England, as well as Lagos, Nigeria. Skye Advisory offers bespoke Legal, Financial and General Business advisory services to small and micro businesses.

Ivie is a duly qualified lawyer with years of cross border experience in the areas of Corporate Advisory, Energy and Projects, Finance and Litigation. Ivie is also an active member of the Nigerian Bar Association as well as an avid woman’s and children’s rights promoter.

View more details about her at www.IvieOmoregie.com. Follow her on Twitter @Ivie_Omoregie and Instagram @Ivie.Omoregie “

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Editor’s Note: We present the above in compliance with United States Copyright Law. It is presented for the purpose of sharing the view that in reality, regardless of the media hype, normal Nigerians do not view scamming as a favorable activity and is one that damages their country. In the last year, their EFCCEFCC Economic and Financial Crimes Commission The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is a Nigerian law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes such as advance fee fraud (419 fraud), scams, and money laundering. The EFCC was established in 2003, partially in response to pressure from the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), which named Nigeria as one of 23 countries non-cooperative in the international community's efforts to fight money laundering. The agency has its head office in Abuja, Nigeria. has vastly increased the enforcement of these crimes and arrests have increased one hundred fold from previous years. Scamming is a societal problem, not just a law enforcement problem. For scamming to end, scammers have to be treated as pariahs in their society not heroes. But no West African country will ever arrest the tens of thousands of their people for this – yes they will arrest the thugs, but the thug gangGang A gang is normally a group or society of associated criminals with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over a territory or business practice in a community and engages, either individually or collectively, in illegal, and possibly violent, behavior. Online gangs are not limited by territory and may operate side by side with other gangs while engaging in crime online. Some members of criminal gangs are initiated (by going through a process of initiation), or have to prove their loyalty and right to belong by committing certain acts, usually theft or violence, or rituals. Gangs are usually rougher and more visible than scammer cartels, and more often arrested. members are less than 10% of who is scamming today – the majority of scammers today are professionals that are not being caught. Alternatives are going to have to be created for theemployments of the tens of thousands of internet trained professionals if we are to truly see scamming come to an end.

SCARS™ Team
A SCARS Division
Miami Florida U.S.A.

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Tell us about your experiences with Romance Scammers in our Scams Discussion Forum on Facebook »

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FAQ: How Do You Properly Report Scammers?

It is essential that law enforcement knows about scamsScams A Scam is a confidence trick - a crime - is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust through deception. Scams or confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, or greed and exploiting that. Researchers have defined confidence tricks as "a distinctive species of fraudulent conduct ... intending to further voluntary exchanges that are not mutually beneficial", as they "benefit con operators ('con men' - criminals) at the expense of their victims (the 'marks')". A scam is a crime even if no money was lost. & scammers, even though there is nothing (in most cases) that they can do.

Always report scams involving money lost or where you received money to:

Local PoliceLocal Police The Local Police is your first responder in most countries. In most English-speaking countries and in Europe report to them first. In other countries look for your national cybercrime police units to report scams to. In the U.S., Canada, & Australia, you must report to the local police first. – ask them to take an “informational” police report – say you need it for your insurance
Your National Police or FBIFBI FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, the FBI is also a member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and reports to both the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence. A leading U.S. counter-terrorism, counterintelligence, and criminal investigative organization, the FBI has jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crimes, including financial fraud. (www.IC3.gov)
The SCARS|CDN™ Cybercriminal Data Network – Worldwide Reporting Network HERE or on www.Anyscam.com

This helps your government understand the problem, and allows law enforcement to add scammers on watch lists worldwide.

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Visit our NEW Main SCARS Facebook page for much more information about scams and online crime: www.facebook.com/SCARS.News.And.Information

To learn more about SCARS visit www.AgainstScams.org

Please be sure to report all scammers HERE or on www.Anyscam.com

All original content is Copyright © 1991 – 2018 SCARS All Rights Reserved Worldwide & Webwide – RSN/Romance Scams Now & SCARS/Society of Citizens Against Relationship ScamsSCARS SCARS - Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. A government registered crime victims' assistance & crime prevention nonprofit organization based in Miami, Florida, U.S.A. SCARS supports the victims of scams worldwide and through its partners in more than 60 countries around the world. Incorporated in 2015, its team has 30 years of continuous experience educating and supporting scam victims. Visit www.AgainstScams.org to learn more about SCARS. are all trademarks of Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Incorporated (formerly the Society of Citizens Against Romance Scams)

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SCARS, RSN, Romance Scams Now, SCARS|GLOBAL, SCARS, Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams, Society of Citizens Against Romance Scams, SCARS|ANYSCAM, Project Anyscam, Anyscam, SCARS|GOFCH, GOFCH, SCARS|CHINA, SCARS|CDN, SCARS Cybercriminal Data Network, Cobalt Alert, ScamScam A Scam is a confidence trick - a crime - is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust through deception. Scams or confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, or greed and exploiting that. Researchers have defined confidence tricks as "a distinctive species of fraudulent conduct ... intending to further voluntary exchanges that are not mutually beneficial", as they "benefit con operators ('con men' - criminals) at the expense of their victims (the 'marks')". A scam is a crime even if no money was lost. Victims Support GroupSupport Group In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic, such as romance scams. Members with the same issues can come together for sharing coping strategies, to feel more empowered and for a sense of community. The help may take the form of providing and evaluating relevant information, relating personal experiences, listening to and accepting others' experiences, providing sympathetic understanding and establishing social networks. A support group may also work to inform the public or engage in advocacy. They can be supervised or not. SCARS support groups are moderated by the SCARS Team and or volunteers., are all trademarks of Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Incorporated.

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