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STRATEGY FOR THE DAY: Be not afraid.

Obviously, officials of Brazil's Noroeste Bank have not been reading my diary. I have posted those ridiculous email scams from people claiming to be corrupt Nigerian officials or relatives of deposed dictators for months now! What is the good of providing a public service like this if stupid, greedy people don't take the opportunity to smarten up?

The head of international finance at Brazil's Banco Noroeste must be a scammer's dream - a really stupid, greedy guy with access to millions of dollars! The scam sounds like exactly the same one that is delivered to hundreds of thousands of email addresses every day. Here's an online news article that says it all. I have posted copies of scam emails I've personally received: the royal scam, the royal scam II, more e-scams. A friend sent me another one that's a lottery scam. I'll post it soon.

Scam Forced Collapse of Brazillian Bank

The classic sting -- in which the 419 gang forced the collapse of the Banco Noroeste of Sao Paolo, Brazil in 2001 -- remains the most spectacular of its type, and its discovery revealed a web of international financial intrigue, led by Nigerians but drawing in suspects of several nationalities.

"Apart from involving the single biggest haul of advance fee fraud, this matter has given birth to other trails, in as diverse and far away places as the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Brazil and the United States," said Nuhu Ribadu.

Abuja's High Court will hear how six Nigerians duped Banco Noroeste's head of international finance into making a series of huge payments in exchange for a false promise of a cut in a contract to build the city's new international airport.

Ribadu said much of the stolen money had been located and was now frozen in the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Tens of millions of businesses and households around the world have received faxes or e-mails from people masquerading as corrupt officials or the sons and daughters of deceased dictators, offering shares in hidden fortunes in exchange for simple administrative assistance.

Victims are sucked in with promises of fabulous wealth, then tricked into supplying bank account details or advance legal fees. International law enforcement agencies believe that billions of dollars are siphoned out of western banks by this method.

Copyright 2004 Robin Frederick. All rights reserved.