Nigerian company �?Music World Ltd’ contacted Skrufff recently enquiring about booking a DJ to play at a festival in Ibadan, Oyo State, in an email that was almost certainly a �?419’ fraud scam.

“Good day and nice to mail you sir, I’m Mr Isaac Brown the manager of Music World Ltd,” the suspect email began, “I will like to use this time to inform you that my company will like to book you for an international show in Nigeria which will commence on the 26th of April. You will perform just for a day and for like 5 hours because some other DJs are coming from 3 other countries too. So kindly let us know the amount we are to pay per gig excluding the feeding cost, flight cost, local transport, security and accommodation etc.. We are to bear the cost of these… Kindly treat this as most urgent and let us know if the DJ will be available for that day,” Mr �?Brown’ urged.

The request appeared to match the tactics adopted by one �?Suzanna Brown’ who last year attempted to fleece a US DJ agency by recruiting a DJ to play a wedding party in Lakeville, Minnesota. After the agency agreed a fee and asked Ms Brown to pay the DJ on the day or send a check, she then sent a check for US$5,000 purportedly direct from the bride and asked the agency to bank it and wire back the rest (so the bride could supposedly buy a dress). The scam was detected by alert banking officials who spotted the check was fake before the DJ agency forwarded any money, though the new email appears more sinister for using the bait of an expenses paid trip to Nigeria. According to anti 419 fraud site Scambaiting.com, �?victims are almost always requested to travel to Nigeria or a border country to complete a transaction’ to isolate them and increase the pressure.

“Individuals are often told that a visa will not be necessary to enter the country. The Nigerian con artists may then bribe airport officials to pass the victims through Immigration and Customs. Because it is a serious offence in Nigeria to enter without a valid visa, the victim’s illegal entry may be used by the fraudsters as leverage to coerce the victims into releasing funds,” say Scambaiters, “Violence and threats of physical harm may be employed to further pressure victims. The Nigerian Government blames the growing problem on mass unemployment, extended family systems and a get rich quick syndrome,” the website added. “And, especially, the greed of foreigners.”

The New York Times also addressed the issue in a review of mafia expert Misha Glenny’s new book on international crime �?McMafia’ this week, describing the author’s detailed analysis of the scope of Nigerian crime. “Glenny describes in delicious detail. �?I Go Chop Your Dollar’, a popular Nigerian song, expresses the nation’s entrepreneurial zest in the line �?I go take your money and disappear’,” said the Times. “When surveying the undulating landscape of Nigerian crime, it is hard not to develop a sense of admiration for the loving care and creativity with which it is fashioned,” the writer also noted.

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