Nigerian men arrested for mail scam

SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- Two Nigerian men were arrested and one was booked on
suspicion of pocketing tens of millions of won by deceiving South Korean victims
through fraudulent e-mail messages, police here said Wednesday.

The suspects, whose names have been withheld, allegedly sent e-mails in English
promising recipients millions of dollars from the African country in exchange for
minor transaction fees, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said.
Police said that three South Koreans -- a translator, a former government
official and the head of a mid-sized firm -- were taken in by the messages and
lost a total of 80 million won (US$64,000).
Similar scams appeared in the 1980s, with messages that promise millions of
dollars in slush funds raised by corrupt African leaders followed by a request to
assist with a few bank transactions.
The e-mails were sent under the names of prominent politicians such as United
Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon or other high-profile Nigerian government
officials.
The suspects, residing in South Korea illegally, attached copies of checks or
certificates of deposits to the messages and received money sent back from their
victims.
Police say that some 85 percent of the money they received had been sent back to
their home country, with the remainder having been spent in South Korea.
Investigators added that two South Koreans had also been booked in connection
with the scam -- a woman who allegedly helped the suspects enter South Korea
illegally and the owner of a private institute who hired one of the Nigerians
without checking his visa status.
Authorities said an increasing number of South Koreans are falling prey to
similar schemes as the number of people proficient in the English language grows.
"The Nigerian scam has many variants and attaches forged documents as well," a
police official said. "People should ignore all kinds of English e-mails that
promise a great amount of money."
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)