21. Crime and law enforcement in the information society

This chapter examines cybercrimes, cyberattacks such as denial-of-service attacks, and law enforcement in the information society. It looks at advance fee fraud, internationally known as ‘419 Fraud’ with reference to Nigeria; as well as the ‘Russian Scam’ that targets the users of online dating sites. It also examines other criminal activities common on the internet, such as privacy attacks, including phishing which illegally appropriates personal data; harassment; cyberstalking; and grooming, and also considers identity theft and identity fraud, as well as cyberterrorism. The chapter presents case studies dealing with cybercrimes, and, finally, it discusses the efforts of the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime to harmonize international cybercrime laws.

The use of anti-money laundering tools to regulate Ponzi and other fraudulent investment schemes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore dynamic issues relating to Ponzi and other fraudulent investment schemes to demonstrate how scammers convince victims of investment opportunities that turn out to be nothing but fraudulent. Specifically, it explores the nature of Ponzi, Pyramid, Advance fees scams and the mechanisms used to defraud unsuspecting victims of their money. The risks associated with Ponzi schemes can be gleaned in the fraud case of Bernie Madoff (1998) who had been running a Ponzi scheme in the USA for 20 years and reaping investors of their returns without ever discovering it until the business collapsed. The other notorious investment scams include “the Nigerian letter frauds” which combine the threat of impersonation fraud with a variation of an advance fee scheme in which a letter is mailed to offer recipients the “opportunity” to share in a percentage of millions of dollars that the author – a self-proclaimed government official – is trying to transfer out of his country. This article assesses the possibility of using anti-money laundering regulatory tools such as a “risk based approach” and “Know Your Customer” to protect victims of fraudulent investment schemes. Design/methodology/approach The paper was written by analysis of primary and secondary data and by utilising newspaper reports on different types of fraudulent investment schemes and the context in which they normally happen in practice. It has also utilized case studies and relevant examples to demonstrate different typologies of fraudulent schemes and the possibility of using anti-money laundering regulatory tools to regulate them. Findings The findings suggest that many people who fall victims of fraudulent investment schemes such as Ponzi and advance fee fraud are not gullible but lack knowledge of their sophistication and how they operate to defraud unsuspecting victims of their savings. Research limitations/implications The paper was largely a library-based research, and there were no interviews carried out to corroborate some of the data used in writing it. This minimises inherent bias in the use of secondary data sources to undertake a study. Practical implications The practical implication of the paper is to highlight the inherent risks in Ponzi and other fictitious investment schemes that are often cleverly conjured to exploit ignorance of the public and defraud them of their savings. It demonstrates that while financial institutions can use their regulatory tools such as KYC to safeguard financial markets from criminal exploitation, people should be vigilant to avoid falling victims of criminal exploitation and lose their savings. Social implications With globalisation, the market is awash with different types of investment opportunities, but people need to keep in mind that it has also created opportunities for criminal exploitation. Some opportunities that are being offered such as advance fee and other schemes are cleverly devised to exploit ignorance of the public. Therefore, this paper highlights the pitfalls which potential investors need to bear in mind when deciding on where to invest and how to invest their money. Originality/value Research on Ponzi schemes, advance fee fraud and misuse of letters of credit do not seem to have received proportionate scholarly attention as other forms of financial crimes. This paper, therefore, addresses a need in the market on many issues it relates.

Policing advance fee fraud (AFF)

Advance fee fraud (AFF) involves an offender using deceit to obtain a financial gain from the victim. The victim believes that by forwarding a sum of money, there will be a future ‘pay-off’. The most commonly witnessed forms of AFF perpetrated via the Internet include classic ‘Nigerian’ or ‘419’ scams, investment fraud and romance fraud. Because of the largely transnational nature of AFF offending, where the victim and offender typically reside in different parts of the world, police are adapting their traditional and reactive approaches to more innovative strategies to combat this crime more effectively. This article utilises a qualitative, semi-structured interview design to explore the experiences of police detectives involved in the implementation of an early intervention model with victims of AFF. The study highlights the challenges involved in developing effective police strategies to proactively reduce the duration and severity of this type of financial victimisation.

Towards a Categorization of Scambaiting Strategies against Online Advance Fee Fraud

Scambaiters are individuals in online information communities specializing in identifying, documenting and reporting actions of so-called ‘419 scammers'. A qualitative research approach was applied to two active scambaiting communities - 419eater.com and thescambaiter.com. Content analysis of several discussions and the examination of interviews from the web radio ‘Area 419: Scambaiting Radio' resulted in the seven categories of scambaiting techniques that are presented in this article. The aim is to both give a wider understanding of the scope of existing Internet scams as well as answering questions of why and how individuals or communities of scambaiters take action against Internet scammers. The analysis on various scambaiting practices is intended as a base for future discussions, for instance, whether some scambaiting methods should be implemented in media competence training.

Mass Media and Re-Branding Nigeria Project: A Historical Evaluation of a Failed Government Policy

Mass media exercise extra-ordinary influence on the state and citizenry of every country and the ability of media to facilitate man’s behavioural change through its agenda- setting role makes them central in the re-branding process. The implication became that those politicians who champion the re-branding process tried to win the citizenry’s legitimacy through the media. This paper shows that the major challenges of the re-branding project include the inability of the Nigerian political leadership to re-brand themselves, corruption in every sphere of our national life, national insecurity, advance fee fraud, collapse of the education sector, poverty. It revealed that peace is a multi-dimensional term, which creates new environment for progressive nation building process. The rebranding project finally failed when the protagonist minister went to contest for senatorial election and his successor refused to step into her re-branding project shoes. This work called for the rise of a new government and media that would engage in ethical politics through sound leaders, priming, peace building, ethical education, etc as the roadmap to sustainable peace, security and national re-branding. The paper concluded by showing that it is only a national re-branding that is championed by the masses which can lead the citizenry to the desired goals of being a real Giant of Africa.