By Randy Hutchinson
President of the BBB
Reprinted from The Commercial Appeal
The “Nigerian Letter Scam” refers to a type of fraud in which the crook offers to help the victim receive a large sum of money in exchange for an upfront payment for taxes, legal fees or bribes to government officials. The name stems from the prevalence of the scams in Nigeria during the 1990s, although they’ve actually been around in some form under different names for hundreds of years. These days many originate outside Nigeria and the communications are usually sent via email rather than letter.
Jamaica has lent its name to lottery and sweepstakes scams where victims are led to believe they’ve won cash or another prize but have to pay an upfront fee to claim it. The U.S. embassy in Jamaica warns that many other scams also originate there and, rather ominously, warns people not to travel there to transfer money.
I’ve noted in other columns that many scams originate in Russia, Ukraine and China. In October 2023, authorities in India busted several call centers that ran tech support scams targeted at consumers in the U.S. and other countries.
You can add Myanmar and neighboring Southeast Asian countries to the list of places where international scams originate. The goal of the scams isn’t just to make money; they’re also entwined in geopolitical struggles.
In a report titled “How Myanmar Became a Global Center for Cyber Scams,” the Council on Foreign Relations says scam call centers in these poor countries are staffed by more than two hundred thousand people, most of whom have been trafficked and forced to work in inhumane and abusive conditions. A report from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) says they’re often lured in by fraudulent online ads for lucrative high-tech jobs.
Some of the workers come from countries beyond the region, including Brazil, Kenya and the Netherlands. Our government has even warned Americans of the dangers of being trafficked into Southeast Asian scam syndicates.
The organizations behind the scams are often ethnic groups jockeying for control with the ruling majority or military junta. Others started out in China and moved to Myanmar and neighboring countries after Beijing began an anticorruption crackdown.
The USIP report says there is ample evidence to suggest that protection of the scamming industry is of strategic interest to the ruling elites in Myanmar, Cambodia, and other countries in the region. It says a significant share of more than $43 billion in illicit proceeds from scam operations flows to the military in Myanmar and the ruling elites in Cambodia and Laos. China generally supports Myanmar’s junta but is frustrated with its inability to crack down on scams that victimize Chinese citizens.
The USIP report goes on to say “…these criminal networks have expanded to the point that they now directly threaten human security globally while posing a growing threat to the national security of the United States and many of its allies and partners around the world.”
Among its policy recommendations, the USIP says the U.S. government should conduct a nationwide public awareness program to educate consumers about how scammers draw potential victims into fraudulent investment, dating and gambling schemes. The Commercial Appeal, The Jackson Sun, and the BBB do our part with these columns.