Regular users of e-mail are aware of the numerous
offers they seem to receive for assistance
in withdrawing some funds belonging to either a past head of state of Nigeria
and a promise of a huge commission for the help.
It has been pointed out by FBI that many persons who took
the messages seriously have not only lost money but some may even might have
lost their lives also.
It is interesting however that this fraud which has been
going on for more than a decade is still claiming victims even in a relatively
better informed US society. It is one of the top ten frauds even in the last
year.
The impact of this fraud on Indians was perhaps reduced by
the strict foreign exchange regulations that protected the natives from
responding to any remittance request from abroad.
However, it has been recently pointed out that a mail
similar to the Nigerian offer is now emanating from Nepal. In view of the
familiarity of Indian population with the events of Nepal and also the easy
movement of money across the borders, this is a greater threat for the Indian
population.
Further, since some anti Indian terrorist groups are known
to operate from Nepal, a link between the originators of this new potential
fraud chain and terrorists cannot be ruled out.
These Frauds are frauds against the community and hence
naavi.org urges that the CBI should take suo-moto action to stop this menace without waiting for any
member of the public to file a formal complaint.
In the meantime, there has to be an education of the public
informing them of the risks in responding to such messages and ensuring that
they ignore the mails except to the extent of cautioning their friends.
It is also necessary to point out yet again the apathy of
the ISP s who seem to ignore their vicarious responsibility in preventing such
false messages being circulated.
