Microsoft chases 5,000 Nigerian conmen

Microsoft is fine tuning its security coding as part of a fresh clampdown on Nigerian 419 conmen that has already shut down 800 of their email addresses and smashed 18 fraud gangs.



Once the software giant's work with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is complete, the operation should see 5,000 hoax email addresses disabled every month.



A system that automatically warns email users of an advanced fee fraud attempt in their inbox should, by then, be benefiting 230,000 people over the same period, the EFCC said.



Head of the commission Farida Waziri said the two-pronged clampdown, of address closures and alert emails, would effectively move Nigeria out of the world's top 10 senders of e-fraud.



Although the goal has long-been envisioned, the EFCC's tie-up with internet leaders, such as Microsoft but also reported to include Google, marks an end to its reliance on cyber raids and the investigation of petitions.



Full deployment of the enforcement initiative, codenamed Operation Eagle Claw, should be live within the next six months, signalling that even the latest variant of the 419 scam should be thwarted.



419 scams, named after the relevant section of the Nigerian penal code, typically claim to offer windfalls in exchange for an individual's banking details or payment of a 'handling charge' to free up greater sums.



Reflecting on Eagle Claw, Ms Waziri said: "When it is fully deployed, it will afford the EFCC the option of either monitoring or shutting down all fraudulent email addresses.



"The EFCC would also have identified victims and potential victims and advised them that their email has been compromised."



She defended the "radical departure" away from more traditional enforcement efforts, saying the "smart use of technology" had resulted in 18 arrests of high profile syndicates operating cyber crime organisations.