According to the U.S. Joint Task Force on West African Fraud, which is operated by the U.S. Secret Service with the Departments of Justice and State, U.S. Postal Service and other agencies' components, (commonly called the 419 Task Force), 419 victims in the United States alone continue to lose a confirmed $100 million a year just as they have for many years. Further, the 419 Task Force has pegged U.S. estimated losses to 419 at $350 million per year (“Nigerian Letter Scam Thrives With E-Mail,” April 29).
Total losses worldwide for 419 continue to be estimated at more than $750 million per year. 419 is a global operation, with nearly every nation on Earth suffering losses to the 419ers.
Though we wish that the incidence of 419 losses and victims were way down, sorry to say, “It ain't so, Joe,” according to the 419 Task Force, which is the primary U.S. government authority on 419 matters.
Unfortunately, the 419 Task Force continues to get well over 500 complaints from 419 targets per week, and losses of more than $1 million for a given target remain depressingly common.
Charles A. Pascale, Coordinator, 419 Coalition
