14 DAY TRIAL // A new scam campaign that affected a 49-year-old Australian man was finally stopped after no less than six men were arrested by the Dutch police. Security company Sophos reported that the cybercriminals managed to steal approximately $1.5 million by tricking the victim with a $90 million fake contract. According to the reports, five of the men involved into the malicious attempts were from West Africa and tried to obtain private financial information from the victims using fake offers sent by email.
Those dangerous attempts are entitled 419 scams because the 419th article of the Nigerian penal code describes them in detail.
"Police in The Netherlands have been particularly active in tracking down the perpetrators of 419 scams, and there have been a number of arrests in the last year or so," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "What may stagger the average man in the street is just how much money can be made by the criminal gangs behind these international con-tricks. The sad fact is that there are people who fall too easily for these scams, and many would probably never report their mistake to the authorities."
Obviously, it's extremely dangerous to make this kind of transactions on the Internet and moreover, with people you don't know. However, you're encouraged to keep your security software solutions such as antiviruses, firewalls and other applications up to date with the latest definitions.
It was proved once again that it's extremely easy to make money on the Internet using malicious techniques because some of the users are way too naive and think they can make money in a matter of seconds. Meanwhile, the hackers and the malicious people who are continuously working to steal our financial information are struggling to reach their victims so next time you'll be working with online money think twice before acting.