Million dollar email scammers plead guilty

IT security and control firm Sophos is reminding internet users to be on their guard against email scams as three men pleaded guilty to stealing more than USD 1.2 million. The federal courthouse in New York heard the men admit to charges that they targeted computer users by pretending they had won millions of dollars in a lottery or were due to inherit a fortune. 

In one of the more elaborate scams perpetrated by the gang, the men also sent emails which claimed to come from a victim of terminal throat cancer who wanted to distribute USD 55 million to charity.  One of the gang, Nnamdi Chizuba Ainsiobi, is then said to have telephoned recipients, disguising his voice to pretend he was that suffering from the disease.

Most people with an email account have probably received emails claiming that they have won a fortune, or asking them to enter a business relationship to move funds out of a country, but these are almost always con tricks being perpetrated by unscrupulous scammers. It may be hard to believe that people fall for this type of crime, but sadly there are vulnerable and naive people out there who do hand over their information and money to criminals.  These three men stole more than USD 1.2 million with their scam emails, proving that there are still plenty of people waiting to have their bank accounts emptied by criminals on the net.

The men, 31-year-old Nnamdi Chizuba Ainsiobi (who went by pseudonyms such as “Yellowman” and “Jiggaman”), 34-year-old Anthony Friday Ehis (who sometimes called himself “Mr T”), and Kesandu Egwuonwu were arrested in Amsterdam two years ago, and subsequently extradited to the United States.

Anisiobi and 35-year-old Egwuonwu are both citizens of Nigeria, whereas Ehis comes from Senegal.  A fourth defendant, Lenn Nwokeafor, was arrested by the Nigerian Economic & Financial Crimes Commission in July 2006 and is awaiting extradition to the United States.