Nigeria's New Scam

Rights, Scams and Politics

Updated on 16 December 2008 | 0 Comments

When you next get rid of an old computer, make sure you wipe the hard drive first.

Anyone with an email address is highly unlikely to have escaped being contacted by someone trying out the infamous Nigerian '419' scam.

This is probably the most well-known of all the email scams and invariably comes from someone related to a dead Nigerian dictator who desperately needs your help in smuggling the family's millions out of the country. In return for you putting some money up front and supplying your bank account details so they can transfer the money out of the country, they'll offer to share it with you. Then they empty your bank account.

Unfortunately, the perpetrators of this kind of fraud have found an easier way of getting hold of your bank details. They just buy your computer when you get rid of it.

According to research by the BBC's 'Real Story' television programme, fraudsters in Nigeria have discovered how easy it is to find banking information stored on recycled PCs sent from the UK to Africa. It's not hard if you know how to access a PC's hard disk that hasn't been wiped.

Simply deleting a file doesn't work. It remains hidden in the background until another file is created over it and that only happens when your hard drive is full up. Even then a computer expert may still be able to retrieve the details.

So if you're selling your computer to someone you don't know or you're giving it away to charity, make sure the hard drive is erased by using software designed for the job. Software programmes such as Eraser and Killdisk can be downloaded from the Internet for free and overwrites any current data with meaningless gobbledegook. Alternatively, you may find your PF manufacturer runs a recycling service and will ensure your hard drive is cleaned up.

For your current computer, make sure you use a personal firewall to stop hackers from gaining illegal access to your computer. This comes free with some operating systems such as Windows XP - otherwise download the free Zone Alarm programme.

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