Another Nigerian scammer jailed

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419Eater is my life Joined: 20 Jan 2009 Posts: 445

News article quoted below :

Link

Quote:

KUALA LUMPUR: A Nigerian woman was jailed for a year and three months for attempting to cheat a government officer through e-mail saying he had won a “Microsoft 2008 Anniversary” lucky draw prize of US$1mil (RM3.64mil).

, 26, a business studies student at a private college here, is said to be the first person to be convicted under the Penal Code for such a scam.

Okotie from Benin, who changed her plea to guilty after a witness testified at her trial earlier, was also slapped with four months’ jail for overstaying in Malaysia after her student pass expired on July 22 last year.

Magistrate Siti Shakirah Mohtarudin, however, ordered the jail terms run concurrently from the date of her arrest on Aug 27.

According to the facts of the case, the probe into the scam started after assistant financial administrator Buang Md Sayuti received an e-mail purportedly from a “Microsoft Internet promotion’’ dated July 14 last year, saying that he was a winner of the lucky draw.

When he checked his e-mail at his office on Aug 19 last year, it stated that the lucky draw was held on July 11 at the Stanford Bridge Stadium in London.

The next day, he received another e-mail saying that he was the fourth winner and would have to pay a processing fee of US$2,750 (RM10,018) to deliver the prize money to his house.

Buang received another e-mail on Aug 25, saying that all processes had been settled and the delivery would be made to him through one Eagle Finance and Courier Company in London.

Okotie claimed to be a representative of the delivery company. Upon her arrival, Buang was asked to pay US$2,550 (RM9,289) to her to enjoy an exemption from any inspections in Malaysia.

On the same day, Buang received a call from Okotie, who introduced herself as Sophia Young, and asked him to meet her to make the payment to get the “item” that was said to be kept at the high commission here.

Okotie gave him three days to settle his payment. She sent him another e-mail the next day, asking for a copy of his identity card and related documents.

Suspecting something amiss, Buang contacted police and arranged a meeting with Okotie at Kuala Lumpur City Centre at 2.45pm on Aug 27.

Shortly later, she was arrested for further investigations.

Pleading for leniency Tuesday, her lawyer B. Renuka said Okotie had been remanded since her arrest and could not afford to pay a hefty fine because she was debt-ridden in her country.

She asked the court to consider Okotie’s status and that she came from a poor family and had a young child to care for.

DPP Azimul Azami Mohd Nor pressed for a deterrent sentence, saying that it was a pre-meditated crime.

Nice name. Did anyone get that Microsoft scam email?

Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 4:11 pm

Quote:

Peace Okotie, 26, a business studies student at a private college here, is said to be the first person to be convicted under the Penal Code for such a scam.

That is EXACTLY why these scams are so popular... Rolling Eyes

Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 6:00 pm

"...first person to be convicted"

I think they mean in Malasia.

The ladette lived in Malasia so she was easier for the law to catch.

Smile

Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 6:17 pm

^^^^

Well I gathered that from the "KUALA LUMPUR" reference.

Scammers are worldwide of course, but I have also received a good portion of scam emails that point to Malasia.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 17 Jun 2007 Posts: 37

Most crimes have some sort of plan to cutdown on their occurance. Specialized teams to investigate and stiff sentences upon conviction are the usual methods.

However, there is no plan in-general against online scams, except for relying on educating the public which has mixed results.

I think its fair to say that a good number of scammers will never run into a baiter during their active time running scams, due to the low number of baiters vs scammers.

Arrests like this are the exception, rather than the rule. If free webmail providers would act more quickly and decisively, if law enforecement had qualified people to pursue scammers across international lines, etc it wouldn't really pay to be a scammer,

Honestly, the best weapon against the spread of online scams is to have more baiters. Seriously.

Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 11:41 pm

It would be nice to get that particular government official's email address and send it to a lad as a ripe mugu ready for the taking. Wouldn't be an ITP as he'd be well aware of what it was and probably go after him as well Smile

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:42 am

What I find interesting is that she attempted to scam and got convicted.

I wonder if the scam had actually worked and if the victim was just a plain old citizen rather than a government official wether they'd have even bothered arresting her.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 17 Jun 2007 Posts: 37

If she had tried to scam an ordinary person, she would either have gotten away with some one's money or she would have been ignored. I think it was just the audacity of trying to scam a government official that caused the court to want to set an example.

If we could find a police officer in Malaysia who is willing to participate with us and to whom we could forward scam letters we receive from Malaysia, then we could have an impact on Malaysia-sourced scam letters.

In fact, if we could find police in any or all of the jurisdiction we receive scam letters from and who could take-up scam baiting on their own, we could bring this whole thing to a conclusion in just a few years.

But, that's not going to happen. As long as scammers go after John/Jane Q. Citizen, these scams will be around for a long time.

419Eater is my life Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Posts: 416

So did the bloke ever get his lottery winnings? Confused

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