The South African Police Service (SAPS) says its 419 task team may be gaining ground against the notorious Nigerian 419 scammers, following the arrest of a syndicate of six fraudsters in Johannesburg last week.
Colonel McIntosh Polela of the SAPS National Media Centre says the criminals were arrested after kidnapping a Dutch national who was lured to SA on a fraudulent R42 million scrap metal deal.
SAPS says since the inception of initiatives to curb these advance-fee fraud schemes, such as the 419 task force team, Web site, and media campaigns, the reported number of cases has gone down.
According to SAPS, the 419 task team, introduced in 2006, aims to reduce the number of these scams circulating on the Internet through education and investigation of reported scams. It says since its inception, the number of these scams has dropped considerably.
The police service says this initiative was shortly followed by a Web site it runs to warn the public about current and past 419 scams. This Web site gives viewers tips on how to avoid being duped and guidelines on how to report cases of this nature, it adds.
SAPS also rolled out several media campaigns, such as its 'Once greedy, always a victim' campaign to educate the public on criminal activities. “The public is taking the message from these campaigns seriously,” SAPS says.
Polela points out that although the number of reported 419 cases has dropped, culprits are continuing to send e-mails to lure unsuspecting victims.
According to SAPS, though 419 fraudsters are frequently arrested in SA as well as globally, for each one caught, there are two or three ready to take their place.
Interpol says the Nigerian 419 scam is the world's largest biggest money-spinner for fraudsters. The scam lends its name from the section of the Nigerian Criminal Code that prohibits these schemes.
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