Friday, October 14, 2005

Microsoft aligns with Nigeria to crack down on 419 scams

Jeremy Kirk writes in InfoWorld:

The Nigerian government and Microsoft signed an agreement Friday calling for the software giant to help law enforcement break up crime rings that use the Internet for fraud and theft.

It's the first-ever agreement Microsoft has signed with an African country to aid law enforcement efforts, said Neil Holloway, Microsoft's Europe, Middle East and Africa president. Holloway spoke with Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, executive chairman of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and Ambassador M.K. Ndanusa at the Nigerian High Commission in London.

Scams originating in Nigeria such as those called "419," which often seek to coax gullible e-mail users into revealing sensitive financial data, have done "unquestionable damage to our country's image," Ribadu said. The EFCC was created two years ago to address Internet crime, money laundering and corruption.

Microsoft's aid will include providing information to law enforcement in addition to training, Holloway said. The company has already been working with Nigerian authorities over the last three to six months, he said.

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