Japanese companies fall victim to 419 scams
Statistics have shown that Nigerian e-mail scammers are having increasing success in Japan:
The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) says that in 2002 it consulted victims in about 20 such cases; but by 2007, the number had shot up to 177. As of the end of September this year, there had already been 264 cases. In most cases, the scammers asked for between 2 million and 3 million yen.
Many of the victims are medium and small-sized businesses, and their numbers have risen as economic conditions worsen; indicating that businesses feeling the pinch are being enticed by the fraudsters’ lucrative deals.
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In one common instance, the victim is asked to take charge of a large amount of money — after paying handling fees. In another, a person posing as a high-ranking government official invites the victim to take part in public contract bidding and requests bidding fees.
Maybe it’s time for some clever Japanese net users to set up a Japanese language version of 419eater.com?
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