Estimated number of internet scammers worldwide?

By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics and access other forums reserved for members. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today by clicking here.

Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 6:22 pm

Has anybody heard or seen a figure on the estimated number of internet/email scammers operating worldwide? I need the figure for an article I'm working on -- a search turns up nothing reliable. I'm guessing this number is damned hard to gauge.

Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 6:44 pm

I don't know that anyone has a reliable figure. For one thing - define 'scammer'. You have some pros. You have some wannabes. You have some mugus who are just dabbling in scams. How involved do you have to be to be a scammer? Is the guy who sent out a few unsuccessful scripts, and never stole a penny, a scammer?

Then, you have to differentiate between 419 scammers and other related types of internet fraud - - spamming, phishing, etc. I believe that, for at least some scammers, there is involvement in more than one area of fraud.

Nevertheless, I would bet the figure is in the tens of thousands.

Bruin

Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 7:52 pm

As of this moment the world population stands at 6,793,859,883, so if only 1 in every 10,000 was a scammer that would be 679385 scammers. Disheartening.

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 1:53 am

An oft-quoted figure (can't remember the source) is that there are 250,000 online scammers in Lagos, which, given the city's population of 10 million, is still quite a low proportion (less than 10% of males between 18 and 65).

From a different angle, I have seen estimates of annual losses to 419 fraud of between US$300 million and US$1 billion. Plucking an average figure of US$2000 per scammer per year would suggest between 150,000 and 500,000 scammers.

It's hard to be more accurate, since so many victims don't report losses due to shame and fear of humiliation.

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 3:46 am

I just work here, but I think that it is too darn many.

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 3:51 am

Millions. It all depends on what kind of scamming you are talking about. My grandfather was a scammer of sorts.

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 4:10 am

^^^

My Paw Paw would never.

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 5:12 pm

So many scammers, so few baiters! (sigh)

Master Baiter Joined: 25 Apr 2009 Posts: 184

I'd say for every baiter there are 10,000 scammers.

So a 10,000:1 ratio.

Don't know if that is how that ratio would look, math ain't my good side. By the time I figured out if that is the correct way to form that ratio, the next Ice Age would be here.

419Eater is my life Joined: 10 Jul 2008 Posts: 366

As a quick quess the number in west africa is in the thousands with perhaps two thirds in Nigeria. West africa has perhaps half of the world total.

The total scam messages has dramatically increased more through
the tools the scammers have than total individuals.

What has changed is volume of other forms of scams. Cell phone calls, scam customers using eBAY / Craig's lists. Phishing in its various forms. Many of the newer scams are targeting the truely innocent victims.
p.

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 2:41 pm

Mlox42 wrote:

I'd say for every baiter there are 10,000 scammers.

So a 10,000:1 ratio.

So no pressure then?

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 2:52 pm

^In a certain way: No, if you screw up, you can always start over on one of those other 10.000 that are there especially for you. On the other hand, figures like this means that G0mer will need to start mentoring more new baiters and educating them in his ways Wink

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 3:00 pm

thanks to all. the only solid number I could find was from a UK source, the one Wright B was referring to: 250,000 in Lagos. It's a really hard number to quantify because there are so many different kinds of scams. The US actually leads in internet fraud, according to reports I've read, because they're counting credit card fraud and other sorts of internet identity theft. So "internet fraud" is a huge balloon that covers everything from phishing to 419. This would make a fascinating study for a sociologist, to start counting number of 419ers by city. makes me want to go back to school.

Estimated number of internet scammers worldwide?	View next topic View previous topic