Advance fee fraud on the Internet: Nigeria's regulatory response

This paper examines the regulatory framework on fraudulent email scams: advance fee fraud that originates in Nigeria. Relevant provisions of the Criminal Code Act, the Advance Fee Fraud and other Related Offences Act, The Financial Crimes Commission Act, and the Money Laundering Prohibition Act which, inter alia, seek to rein in Internet scams, are analysed for their effectiveness. The fraud has been unleashed on the Internet at a level and frequency that has helped draft the word '419' into the online lexicon, as a synonym for email scams, for which Nigeria has become notorious. The loopholes and inadequacies of the legislation are highlighted. It is noted that the Internet scam boom in Nigeria is not so much consequent upon a lack of regulation as within enforcement of the existing relevant penal law. This article highlights how the international community might help to tackle such crime and makes a case for greater systemic transparency, legal enforcement readiness, intensification of public enlightenment campaigns and technological approaches to combat the menace of advance fee fraud on the Internet.