Security news29 January 2004
Dutch police arrest 52 suspected email scammers
The Dutch police are reported to have arrested 52 suspected email scammers at 23 locations across Amsterdam. Computers, mobile phones, and 50,000 Euros in cash were confiscated from the suspects, who are believed to have sent 100,000 scam emails to victims in Japan and the USA.
The crackdown on Wednesday 28 January was designed to crack a criminal gang engaged in "Advanced Fee Fraud" (also known as the "Nigerian email" scam).
In 2003 a Dutch court sentenced five scammers to between 300 days and 4.5 years in jail, after a lecturer from Switzerland paid them $482,000 on the promise of receiving $9 million.
"These email scams, promising fortunes in money are frequently received by all who use the internet," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Astonishingly some people's greed makes them fall for the false promises of the emails and before they know it they find their bank accounts have been emptied. Users should be wary of any email that seems too good to be true."
Sophos recommends companies protect themselves with a consolidated solution which can defend businesses from the threats of both spam and viruses.
