The Nigerian Email Scam, the one that made phishing so famous, it’s being revealed by Process Software, a HALO subdivision, announced they have published a series of articles documenting the infamous Nigerian email scam. They include how it works, who is behind it, and why it has been so successful at defrauding money from victims for over a decade.

First, the scammers send an email that comes from an alleged official at a foreign bank, corporation, or government agency. After that, they try to make the victim to want to be part of the scam, by wanting those money. For that, they attempt to gain the victim’s confidence. They ask for a small amount of money, around $500-$1000, for them to be able to benefit from a large amount of money.

After that, the scammers use different techniques to build up the confidence of the victim. It seems that the most successful involves fictional transfers into the victim’s back account. Who can refuse to gain so much money (between $10 millions and $70 millions). From 500 messages sent, only 2 or 3 fall for the scammers trap. The greed it’s too high.

Once the victim begins to trust the scammers, the scammers get to the next phase of the scam. They ask for a small amount of money to begin the papers, and for that they sometimes use forged documents. They impose artificial deadlines, so the victim moves fast and doesn’t has the time to realize that he has been scammed. So they pay more and more money, not to lose the chance to gain all those money, even when the request are a little “strangeâ€Â?.So they pay for additional taxes and fees, just to make sure that they get the money.

One of the odd requests are those who include traveling to Africa or Europe to cash the check or to meet in a face-to-face with the scammer. This way, several people had been reported missing, an at least one US citizen has been murdered when confronting with the scammer. You can read more stories regarding the Nigerian Scam here and here.

Process Software develops PreciseMail Anti-Spam Gateway, a solution to stop the spam, right at the Internet gateway or mail server. The success rate is 98%, as they say, without filtering legitimate messages.

“Process Software conducted this research to illustrate to email users the financial scams behind spam email messages, which in some instances have been tied to organized crime,” said Brian McDonald, Process Software President and CEO. He added, “The risks can be reduced through user education and an effective spam filter such as our PreciseMail Anti-Spam Gateway.”