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Who is the Cyber-Criminal

These days, Nigerians have been marked Internet fraud and cyber-criminals. business proposals Sincere are rejected by potential business partners as soon as we find that the IP address comes from Nigeria.

In a country supposedly the happiest on earth, one of the most religious and stinking rich natural and human resources, with the average citizen really hurt every day to earn honestly in most cases, a lounge, it's a shock, but also an understandable claim. Fraudulent emails or email origin can easily be identified through the Internet Protocol (IP). However, it takes two to tango. Wrongly or rightly said, Nigerians are like the average Earthling – from the vagaries of the reality of a world nanosecond pace. But how it came to be is another matter.

Internet Nigeria came very late. In the years end, late 90s and early 2000s. Then, little deception was the order of the day as in most countries, especially in the Western world. Naples, Italy, New York, USA, London, United Kingdom and many other places have stories to tell crooks and all that. Not much was heard of cyber-crimes anywhere near the banks of any African country since the cyber-activities were virtually nonexistent. Nobody drives a car of your dreams without actually buy or possess.

All the first recorded stories of deception or con-vessel was never Nigeria dramatis personae or even African, too. According to the chroniclers of this well informed ignominious way of life, a scam or a confidence game (also known as bunko, con, flim FLAM, gaffle, Grift, agitation, scam, scheme, swindle or bamboozle) is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their trust. The victim is known by the brand name, which the trickster called a man of confidence, crook, crook or swindler, and accomplices are known as buddies.

the prisoners to exploit the characteristics humanities such as greed and dishonesty, and have victimized people from all walks life scammer is someone who intentionally deceives another person usually for personal financial gain. In recent history there have been a number of crooks who have really stood for either wealth they amassed, or the ease with which they deceived the people.

Archivists staggered a list of 10 of the most famous swindlers in recent history:

1. Frank Abagnale (born 1948)

Frank Abagnale is a former con artist check, forger and impostor who, for five years in the 1960s, adopted a value of more bad checks $ 2.5 million in 26 countries. His heinous acts inspired by the shooting of the film to catch recent successes' Me If You Can ". He began carving fraudulent niche for himself in his youth when he used the card of his father to buy Mobil for car parts that would then sell back the service station for a lower price. Records that he does not realize that his father was the one who should pay the bill and when it was finally faces fraud, his mother sent him for four months in a correctional institution for minors.

After moving New York, Frank has lived only on income from his fraudulent activities. One of his most famous tricks was to print his account number on bank deposits of counterfeit ballots so that when the bank's customers had deposited the money, it would actually go to his account. When the banks realized what had happened, Frank had taken $ 40,000 and underground.

For about two years, Abagnale globetrotter in world free himself parading as a pilot of the Pan Am has been able to abuse the professional courtesy to other airlines to provide free transportation for competitors airline pilots, if they had to move to another city soon. Once he was captured about to leave an airplane, but he changed his masquerade to that of a doctor and he worked as medical supervisor for 11 months without being detected. Sometimes, he worked as a lawyer and a teacher.

He was finally taken in France and spent six months in prison there. After that, it was extradited to Sweden and imprisoned for six months. After a successful escape, while traveling to the United States, he was finally given 12 years in prison. He escaped from prison by posing as an undercover agent of the Bureau of Prisons. He was again taken New York and returned to prison. After serving five years of his sentence, the U.S. federal government offers him his freedom in exchange for help the government against fraud and scams without pay.

It currently runs Abagnale and Associates, a consulting firm and financial fraud a multi-millionaire.

2. Charles Ponzi [Date of Birth: 1882 Death: 1949]

Ponzi, an Italian immigrant to the United States have become one of the most famous frauds in American history. Although many people do not know the Ponzi name, the Ponzi scheme is extremely well known and continues to make Internet Money Fast schemes. His early life is not fully known, as he was inclined to make stories about it. What is known is that he spent a short time at the University of Rome and, after the stall, took a boat to Boston, USA where it reached $ 2.50 in his pocket.

His early years in the United States have been painful. He began working in a restaurant but he was soon drawn to play tricks with the bills and shortchanging customers. His next job was working in a bank in Canada, adapting to Italian immigrants. His knowledge of numbers has helped to do very well. Unfortunately it turned out that the owner of the bank was stealing money from savings accounts newly opened to paying interest on interest bearing accounts and to cover bad investments. The owner of the Bank eventually fled to Mexico Ponzi and left without jobs. After writing a fraudulent check and spending a number of years in prison, Ponzi determined to become rich at any price.

Once it has settled to life outside, he discovered postal reply coupons through a letter that was sent from abroad. He realized he could buy coupons to foreign prices massively devalued (because of price fixing after the war) and sell them in the U.S. for a profit of 400%. It was a form of arbitration and it was legal. Ponzi's friends started canvases and knowledge for the money – by promising a return of 50% or a doubling their money within 90 days. He started his own company, the Securities Exchange Company, to promote the system.

The word of this great investment is spread rapidly and before long Ponzi lived in a luxurious mansion. He brought in cash at a fantastic rate, but the simplest financial analysis showed that was not earning money, he quickly lost. For every dollar it took in, he went deeper into debt. So much money required to pour in, Ponzi would stay ahead of the final fall.

The people soon become suspects and the press began to publish negative articles about him. Inevitably, people began to demand their money. Shortly afterward, federal agents raided his office and close. No stock of stamps has been found and all those who had invested their money with Ponzi lost every penny. It is likely that he lost tens of millions of dollars. Ponzi pleaded guilty to mail fraud and was sent to prison. After an escape, he was returned to prison to complete his sentence. He was eventually returned to Italy where he died in poverty in 1949,.

3. Weil [Joseph Born: 1877 Died: 1975]

Joseph "Yellow Kid" Weil was one of crooks most famous of his time. During his career, he is believed to have stolen more than $ 8 million. In his first job as a collector, he realized that his colleagues were collecting their debts but keeping a small portion of the money for themselves. Weil started a protection racket – offering not to report their activities in exchange for a small part of what they took.

He also used fake oil deals, women, fixed races, and an endless list of other tricks to steal a public increasingly credulous. He could change his character to continue his daily earnings: one day, he was Dr. Henri Reuel, a noted geologist who traveled around and told his guests that he was a representative for a large oil company in their scarce liquidity, they gave him to "invest in fuel. The next day, He was director of the Development Corporation Elysium, promising land to innocent believers while depriving them of the registration and abstract fees. Either it was par excellence chemist who discovered how to copy dollar bills, promising to increase your wealth, it should increase your Bill then take the booty once the police arrived.

In his autobiography, Weil wrote:

"The desire to obtain something for nothing was very expensive for many people who have treated me and other crooks, "says Weil." But I found that this is how it works. The average person, in my opinion, ninety-nine per cent animal and one per cent of men. Four Ninety nine percent of animals that causes problems very soon. But the one percent that is human causes all our woes. When people learn – I doubt they will – they can not get something for nothing, crime decreases and we live in a larger harmony. "

4. (Count) Victor Lustig [Date of Birth: 1890 Death: 1947]

Victor Lustig was recognized as the man who sold the Eiffel Tower. He was born in Bohemia, but later moved to Paris where he was able to con people on his frequent trips between Paris and New York. His first con to show people a device could print $ 100 bills. The only problem, they say, is that it prints a single bill every six hours. Many people paid him enormous amounts of money (usually over $ 30,000) for the device. In fact, the device includes two real hidden $ 100 bills – a Once they have spat on the machine, it would produce only blank paper. At a time when buyers discovered this, Lustig is on track with their money.

In 1925, France was recovering from the war, the maintenance of the Eiffel Tower is an unbearable burden for the city of Paris. When Lustig read about it in a document He arrived with his most brilliant idea. After forging powers of government, he invited six scrap metal dealers to a secret meeting in a hotel. He explained that the City could not afford to keep the tower and they had to sell for scrap. He told them the secret of the meeting and all reports future due to the fact that the public can become distressed at the idea of removing the tower.

Although it seems implausible, when the tower was built it was supposed to be temporary, which happened just 18 years after the date originally scheduled for removal of the tower. Lustig took the dealers in a limousine to visit the tower. One dealer, Andre Poisson was convinced that the tale was legitimate and he gave the money. When he realized he had been duped, he was too embarrassed to tell the police and Lustig escaped with the money. A month later, he returned to Paris to try the whole scam again. This time, it was reported to the police but Lustig managed to escape.

At one point, Lustig convinced Al Capone to invest $ 50,000 with him. He stored the money in vault and returned two months later, stating that the operation had failed. Capone was so impressed by her honesty Lustig gave $ 5,000 for his efforts. In 1934, Lustig was convicted of counterfeiting. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in Alcatraz. In 1947, he died of pneumonia while in jail in Springfield, Missouri.

5. George Parker [Date of Birth: 1870 Death: 1936]

Parker was one of the most audacious frauds in American history. He earned his living selling public sites in New York for unwary tourists. His favorite subject sale was the Brooklyn Bridge, where he has sold twice a week for years. He convinced his marks they could make a fortune by controlling access to the road. More than once the police had to remove the bridge naive buyers as they tried to erect barriers toll.

Other public sites he sold included the original Madison Square Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the tomb of Grant, and Statue of Liberty. George had many different methods for the manufacture of its sales. When he sold the tomb of Grant, he often present as the small-son General. He even put a fake "office" to handle its real estate scams. He used forged documents to prove that impressive was the legal owner of any property he sold.

Parker was convicted of fraud on three occasions. After his third December 17, 1928 conviction, he was sentenced to life in prison at Sing Sing. He has spent the last eight years of his life behind bars. It has been popular among the guards and inmates who enjoyed hearing about his exploits. George is remembered as one of the men most successful con in the history of the United States, and one in the history of the most talented pranksters. His exploits are passed in culture People, giving rise to expressions such as "and if you think I have a bridge to sell you", a popular way to express belief that someone is gullible.

6. Smith soap [Date of Birth: 1860 Death: 1898]

Soapy Smith (born Jefferson Randolph Smith) was an American artist and con gangster who had a major hand in the organized criminal operations of Denver, Colorado, Creede, Colorado, and Skagway in Alaska from 1879 to 1898. It is perhaps the most famous "Sure-thing" bunko man of the Old West. Sometime in the late 1870s or early 1880, Smith began to fool with a whole host stratagem the Denver newspapers dubbed the price of the package of soap copy Swindle.

Jefferson will open its "guts and Keister (Showcasing a tripod) on a busy street corner. Piling regular soap cakes on top Keister, he described wonders. As he spoke to the crowd of curious culture, he pulled his wallet and start packing paper money ranging from one dollar up to a hundred dollars, around a few select one of the bars. He then completed by each bar plain wrapping paper around it to hide the money. He mixed the bundles of money wrapped in wrapped bars containing no money. He then sold the soap to the crowd for a dollar a cake.

An artificial planted in the crowd to buy a bar, tearing open, and loudly proclaiming that he had won some money, waving around the sight. This performance had the desired effect of encouraging the sale of packages. More often than not, victims have bought several bars before the sale was concluded. In the middle of the sale, Smith would announce that the hundred dollar bill was still in the stack, without buying it. It would then auction cakes of soap that are the highest bidders.

Thanks to the masterful art of manipulation and sleight-of-hand, the soap bars wrapped with silver have been hidden and replaced by packets not holding cash. He assured that the only money "donated" to members of what became known under the name Band of soap. "Soapy was eventually shot by a group, he cheated in a game of cards.

7. Eduardo de Valfierno

Eduardo de Valfierno, who referred to himself as Marqués (Marquess), was a man who allegedly orchestrated con Argentina theft of the Mona Lisa. Valfierno paid several men to steal the artwork from the Louvre, including museum staff Vincenzo Perugia. On August 21, 1911 Peruggia hidden behind the Mona Lisa under his coat and simply walked out the door.

Before the burglary took place, Valfierno commissioned art restorer and forger Yves Chaudron French to six copies of the Mona Lisa. The forgeries were then shipped to different parts of the world prepares for buyers, he had aligned. Valfierno knew once the Mona Lisa was stolen would be more difficult to get copies of past customs. After the hold-up copies were delivered to buyers, each thinking they had the original which had been stolen for them. Because Valfierno just wanted to sell fake, do the original Mona Lisa to disappear and never contacted again after Perugia crime. Finally Peruggia was caught selling the table and he was returned the Louvre in 1913.

8. James Hogue [Date of birth: 1959]

Hogue is an impostor most famous United States entered Princeton University by posing as a self-taught orphan. In 1986 Hogue enrolled in a Palo Alto High Jay Mitchell Huntsman, an orphaned 16-year-old Nevada. He adopted the identity of a dead child. A local reporter exposed him suspicious. In 1988 Hogue enrolled at Princeton University under the pseudonym Indris Alexi Santana, a self-taught orphan from Utah. It deferrals of one year because he had been convicted theft of bicycle frames in Utah. Hogue alleged in his application that he had slept outside in the Grand Canyon, the sheep and reading the philosophers. He violated his parole to enter the classroom. For the next two years, he lived like Santana and as a team member Athletics. It has also been admitted to the Ivy Club.

In 1991 Hogue true identity was exposed when Renee Pacheco a student at Palo Alto High School, recognized him. He was arrested for defrauding the university for $ 30,000 in financial assistance and sentenced to three years in prison with five years probation and 100 hours of community service.

On May 16, 1993 Hogue has made headlines again by means of its association with Harvard University. After lying about his identity again, he was able to take a job as a security guard in one Harvard Museum on campus. A few months after its mandate, museum officials noticed that the gems were several presentations replaced inexpensively false. Police seized Hogue Somerville in his house and accused him of robbery to the tune of $ 50,000.

12th March, 2007 Hogue pleaded guilty to a unique crime of theft over $ 15,000 in exchange for a sentence of imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, and the agreement of prosecutors to abandon the flight and other habitual criminal charges.

9. Robert Hendy-Freegard [Date of birth: 1971]

Robert Hendy-Freegard bartender is a British car salesman, a cheat and a fraud who masked as an agent of MI5 and fooled many people into the underground for fear of assassination by the IRA. He met his victims on social occasions or as customers in the pub or a car dealer where he worked. He would reveal his "role" as an undercover agent of MI5 or Special Branch of Scotland Yard who fight against the IRA. He won, asking for money and make them do his will. He demanded that they cut all contact with family and friends, pass "loyalty tests" and live alone in poor conditions. It attracted five women, saying he wanted to marry. Initially some of the victims refused to cooperate with the police because he had warned that police would double agents or agents of MI5 to carry out another test of loyalty. "

Hendy-Freegard also PDA seduced newly-wed has been taking care of her children. He said he was with MI5 and forced him to turn it off with friends and family for fear that the IRA would kill him. He also took nude pictures of her and threatened to give them to her husband if she did not cooperate. She had to change his name and tell the officer unilateral act because it was sexually abused in childhood. His tests loyalty included sleeping in Heathrow airport and on park benches for several nights and pretending to be a Jehovah's Witness so that its MI5 bosses they would marry.

In 2002, Scotland Yard and the FBI organized a sting operation. First, the FBI put tapping the phone of parents, the American psychologist. His mother said Hendy-Freegard she would hand over £ 10,000, but only in person. Hendy-Freegard met the mother at Heathrow Airport, where police had apprehended. He denied all the accusations and said they were part of a conspiracy against him and continued the story in the subsequent trial. On June 23, 2005, after a trial lasting eight months, Blackfriars Crown Court Robert Hendy-Freegard sentenced for two counts of kidnapping, 10 of theft and eight of deception. On September 6, 2005, he was given a life sentence. The police doubt that they have uncovered all the victims. On April 25, 2007, the BBC has reported that Robert Hendy-Freegard had appealed his conviction and removal won. This means that the life sentence is revoked, but it will still serve nine years for other offenses. It could be free by the end of 2007.

10. Bernard Cornfeld [born: 1927 died: 1995]

Bernard Cornfeld was a prominent businessman and international financial sold investments in mutual funds. He was born in Turkey. When he moved to the United States, he first worked as assistant social, but has become a seller of mutual funds in the 1950s. Although he suffered from a stutter, he had a natural gift for selling and when the father of a friend died, they both used the insurance money of $ 3,000 to purchase and operate an age and weight guess booth at the fairground in Coney Island.

In the 1960s, Cornfeld formed his own mutual fund sales company, investors overseas Services (IOS), which is incorporated outside the United States with funds in Canada and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Although the seat was offcially in Geneva, the main offices of running the IOS were in Ferney-Voltaire, France, a short drive from the Swiss border Geneva, it was simply a way to avoid problems in obtaining work permits in Switzerland for many employees. Over the next decade, IOS raised over $ 2.5 billion, bringing Cornfeld a personal fortune of more than $ 100 million. Cornfeld himself is known for conspicuous consumption with sumptuous feasts. Socially, he was generous and jovial.

A group of 300 employees complained to the authorities IOS Swiss that Cornfeld and his co-founders pocketed a portion of the proceeds of an equity issue raised among employees in 1969. Consequently, it was accused of fraud in 1973 by the Swiss authorities. When Cornfeld went to Geneva, the Swiss authorities arrested him. He served 11 months in a Swiss prison before being released on bail on a surety of $ 600,000. He returned to Beverly Hills, who live on less ostentatious than in its previous years. He developed an obsession with health foods and vitamins, abandoned the red meat and rarely drank alcohol. He suffered a stroke and died of a brain aneurysm February 27, 1995 in London, England.

The great grandfather of all the crooks in history is Bernard Madoff, mastermind of the largest investment fraud. This report by Reuters on its trial and conviction:

"Bernard Madoff was sentenced Monday to 150 years in prison – the maximum sentence the judge could give him for" extraordinary evil "crimes of Wall Street's biggest and boldest of investment fraud.

It will:

"Investors Fleeced in the courtroom cheered and applauded as the judge pronounced the sentence.

Madoff, 71, was passive hands clasped at his waist, showing No reaction when he heard the sentence to prison for the rest of his life.

The former non-executive chairman of the Nasdaq stock market has been imprisoned in a cell in Manhattan since he pleaded guilty to 11 counts including securities fraud, money laundering and perjury in March.

"Here, the message must be sent that crimes of Mr. Madoff were extraordinarily bad," U.S. District Judge Denny Chin said rejecting defense for leniency, sentenced to 12 years. "abuse of trust has been massive.

"I just not felt that Mr. Madoff has done all he could and said everything he knows. "

The manager of the silver gray hair was dressed in his dark gray suit signature white shirt and tie instead of a combination of jail.

Sat disgraced financier passively while Throughout the hour and a half hearing and that his victims called him a "beast", an "animal" and a scumbag. "

He apologized to them, at one point turning to the 250 people in the courtroom.

"I will live with this pain, with this torment for the rest of my life, "he said calmly. "I live in a state plagued know the pain and suffering that I created."

Madoff, who was accused of extracting investors worldwide as well $ 65 billion, said: "In my business, when you make a trading error, you're supposed to make a trading error, it is accepted. My mistake was much more serious. I made a misjudgment. "

Caught Out by the financial crisis

Madoff's arrest came in December, investors have been feeling the weight of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s Great.

The case has sparked widespread criticism of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which was accused of lack of red flags that could have the curtain on its management of assets.

We do not know where Madoff serve his sentence for that prosecutors described as fraud in the world of small investors and the rich, charities and financial institutions.

J. Chin heard statements harrowing nine Madoff victims, some of whom said they had lost all their savings, have been forced to sell their homes, or had to seek government help to buy food.

"I only hope that his imprisonment is long enough for his cell prison became his coffin, "said Michael Schwartz, 33, who said his family had been robbed of savings reserved for custody of his mentally disabled brother.

The White House said that the judge had sent a strong signal to those who handle other people's money.

"I think that this message will be heard loud and clear," said spokesman Robert Gibbs President Barack Obama.

Madoff was arrested in December after his two son told authorities he had confessed to his investment empire was a sham.

Prosecutors have said that Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities showed $ 65 billion in customer accounts, weeks before his arrest, but trustee in liquidation the company has so far been able to collect $ 1.2 billion in return for investors.

As much as 170 billion U.S. dollars flowed through the principle of Madoff has for decades. Madoff was symbolically fined this amount in restitution.

If a sentence much lower Madoff reportedly sent to jail for life, Chin said that he deserved the maximum, usually transmitted to the heads of organized crime.

"Fraud has been huge here," said the judge.

A law professor said that was surprised by the sentence, but not sure it would be a deterrent.

"I think that the mini-Madoff there might think that what has happened today has something to do with them, but I suspect that most of them do, "said Jayne Barnard College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Madoff lawyer said no decision had been taken on the appeal award.

Neither parent Madoff came to court. They have not attended one of his appearances before the court.

The judge said he had not received a single letter on behalf of Madoff, reflecting all the good deeds or charitable. "Absence such support is significant, "said Chin.

Madoff wife Ruth, 68, has not been charged with any crime, but she has been vilified by the defrauded investors, shunned by friends and pursued by the media. Breaking his long silence, she said in a statement Monday she had been "betrayed and confused" by her husband's fraud.

"From the moment I learned from my husband that he had committed an enormous fraud, I had two thoughts – first, that so many people who trust him would be ruined financially and emotionally, and secondly, that my life with the man I have known for over 50 years was more, "she said.

Madoff said he acted alone. The only other person is criminally charged its outside accountant.

Madoff brother, Peter, and his son, Mark and Andrew, were executives in the brokerage unit of his office. They said they were not aware or involved in the asset management side bent.

Madoff and his wife have agreed to the sale of three properties and luxury goods and other valuables. Proceeds from disposals of assets will be distributed to investors defrauded.

Ruth Madoff will be left with 2.5 million, after forfeiture of any claim to $ 80 million in assets, including flat couple's penthouse in Manhattan.

Madoff said investors in the courtroom he could offer no apologies, saying he has tried to defeat his crimes, but "the more I tried, the deeper a hole dug for me, I said."

Investors said the apology left cold.

"There is something very pathological. There are always excuses for himself, "said George Nierenberg, 57.

(Reporting by Grant McCool, Martha Graybow, Daniel Trotta, Mike and Christine Kearney Erman, Editing by John Wallace, Toni Reinhold) "

Things scam on our collective nerves provided that the proposals do not get honest business of Look-In by most foreign prospects once the IP address shows Nigeria: But one thing remains – victims of scams are either greedy or gullible and proportionately criminal minds 2 fall 4 such schemes. The victim also nolens discretion in accepting the proposals to become rich quickly, commits the crime as an unlikely (?) Accomplice.

According to Wikipedia, "The first known use of the prisoners "term" in English was in 1849, it has been used by the American press during the trial of United States William Thompson. Thompson chatted with strangers until he asked if they had the confidence to lend him their watches, after What he go with the watch, he was caught when the victim was recognized in the street.

The respected online encyclopedia further explains: "deception exploit typical human qualities such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, honesty, compassion, credulity and naivety. The common factor is that the brand is based on good faith from the crook. Just as there is no typical profile for the crooks, nor is he one of their victims. Virtually anyone can fall prey to fraudulent crimes.

Certainly, victims of investment fraud High performance can have a level of greed which exceeds their caution and a willingness to believe what they want to believe. However, all Fraud victims are greedy, risk-taking, self-deceptive individuals looking to make a quick dollar. Not all fraud victims naive, uneducated, or those elderly. A brand greedy or dishonest may try to cheat on him a fraud, only to discover that he has been manipulated to lose from the beginning. It is such a general principle of confidence tricks that there is a saying among con men that "you can not cheat an honest man."

Con artists often work with one or several accomplices called buddies, who help manipulate the mark to accept the plan of the Con man. In a turn of confidence Traditionally, the mark is led to believe he will be able to earn money or other prize by doing a task. The accomplices may pretend to be foreigners who have received the job done in the past.

Wikipedia is also his own world record con-renowned artists, some of them have been mentioned above in the preceding paragraphs, and it is clear that none of them was Nigeria or even Africa for that matter:

Notable fraudsters

Born in 18th century

Gregor MacGregor (1786-1845) – Scottish crook who tried to attract investment and settlers for a country Poyais non-existent.

Born or active in the 19th to centuri

Blong Lou (1849-1924) – Band organized massive frauds in Denver early 1900s.

Helga the Brache (1817-1885)

Horace de Vere Cole (1881-1936)

Canada Bill Jones – riverboat player and a strong card

Winner Lustig (1890-1947) – Born in Bohemia (now Czech Republic) and known as "the man who sold the Eiffel Tower.

George C. Parker (1870-1936) – U.S. con man who sold New York attractions for tourists.

Charles Ponzi (1882-1949) - "Ponzi scheme" was a rich "fast" fraud named after him.

Death Valley Scotty (1872-1954) a prospector, performer, and crook, famous for gold mining scams and Hotel in Death Valley known as the Castle Scotty.

Smith soapy (1860-1898) – gang leader trust, which operated in Denver, Colorado, Creede, Colorado, and Skagway, Alaska

William Thompson (Active 1840-1849) – U.S. criminal whose deceptions caused the prisoners term invented.

Weil Joseph (1875-1976) – one of the most famous American of his time crooks.

Cassie Chadwick (1857-1907) – Defrauded several banks of millions of U.S. dollars by pretending to be an illegitimate daughter and heiress of Andrew Carnegie.

Born or active in the 20th century

Bernie Cornfeld (1927-1995) – headed the foreign investors, alleged be a Ponzi scheme.

Richard Eaton (1937-1979) – The owner crook lounge, and general manager of the factory Moo Moo Vedda dress and an associate of the Lucchese crime family.

David Hampton (1964-2003) – Source of inspiration for the game and the movie Six degrees of separation

Konrad Kujau (1938-2000) – German forger of the alleged Hitler Diaries.

Eduardo of Valfierno – No conma Argentina allegedly orchestrated the theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911.

Living people

Frank Abagnale (1948) – check forger and impostor United States, his autobiography, Catch Me If You Can, was making a movie.

Peter Foster (1962) – Australian con man, with convictions and prison sentences on three continents for fraud and money laundering, known for slimming scam Bai Lin tea and engaging in property transactions with Cherie Blair.

Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter (1961) - Bavarian-born con man who, for nearly two decades, claimed to be a member of the wealthy Rockefeller family.

Robert Hendy-Freegard (1971) – Breton, who has kidnapped people pretending to be an MI5 agent and conned money.

James Arthur Hogue (1959) – U.S. impostor who became the most famous Princeton University by posing as a self-taught orphans.

Clifford Irving (1930) – Writer , best known for a fake "autobiography entitled" Howard Hughes.

Samuel Israel III (1959) – the ex-Ran fraudulent Bayou Hedge Fund Group; faked suicide.

Bon Levi (1943) – Ron Aka Convention and Frederick Ronald. We can say notorious swindler as Australia, which deceived the Australian and U.S. citizens by investing in companies franchise scam. He was jailed in Australia and the United States.

Laurent Bernard Madoff (1938) - American former chairman of Nasdaq Stock Market, who admitted running a world record $ 65 billion Ponzi scheme. Headed the hedge Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC until his arrest in 2008. In March 2009, he pleaded guilty 11 federal crimes.

Matt the Knife (1981) – American-born card cheat and pickpocket who defrauded companies, casinos, and at least one crime family of the Mafia.

Barry Minkow (1967) – American entrepreneur. His company, ZZZZ Best, investors with a cost estimated at $ 100 million before he served seven years in prison for fraud and other offenses.

Semyon Mogilevich (1946) – is a billionaire boss of organized crime and a Global Con artist believed European and U.S. agencies federal law enforcement to be the "boss of bosses" of most unions Russian mafia in the world.

Lou Pearlman (1954) – American businessman and director of boy bands, sentenced to 25 years for the operation of an investment Ponzi scheme.

Casey Serin (1982) – Mortgage confessed fraudster who has become the "child" of the housing bubble.

Solomon Dwek (c.1973) Syro-Orthodox rabbi and real estate investor from Deal, New Jersey, who pleaded guilty to bank fraud involving $ 50,000,000 PNC Bank.

Michael Sabo (1945) Best known for its history as a check forger stocks and bonds. He became famous in the 1960s and throughout the 1990s as a "great liar" and was presented on national television, had more than 100 aliases, and won millions.

With the foregoing, it is unreasonable to condemn the Nigerians for the enculturation criminal world by the west in almost all aspects of contemporary life. Western films are in Nigeria and African homes of all sorts of immoralities until foreign. People wear three-piece suits in hot weather and lots of crooks have recently started to use religion to achieve scamming their thought processes. Well, it is no surprise to yours truly as Jesus has already warned two millennia ago that "In days, many shall come from far wrong in my name ". Now, we see many, and most of them are Nigerians. Why treated with such ignominy?

As mentioned previously, the Internet and mobile technologies have arrived on these shores in the late 90. Before that, the seducers West continued to deceive people by various devices and have not been decried as Nigerians. They hacked into computer systems by viruses and other unfortunate things against humanity. 95% of Nigerians have no access to Internet, but we hear about Internet scams bewildering be attributed to Nigerians.

Many of these emails are also sent to Most of us (Nigerians), but we ignore them without wincing.

For example, you get a message saying that you just won scam The lot and blah blah blah. You know you've never played any game and you fall for it. It is greed and trying to harvest where one has not sown. Or someone sends an email saying that someone died and left money in a bank account fictitious and needs your help to get out in yours. I would not buy this idea for a half-cent, because I'm not greedy. In my little research I discovered that these schemes are actually scams, inherited from the Western world itself. It's like syndrome return to sender. Moreover, we hear these days of Madoff of this world whose only exceeded booty booty all of the so-called Nigerian scam artists. 0.001% Nigerians unlike most parts of the western world are actually involved in either. Their ability to send mail in bulk millions at the touch of a button does not mean a scammer from Nigeria provided that the singular act of action Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on Christmas Day 2009 are not all Nigerians terrorists or suicide bombers.

The real average Nigerian is hardworking and strives daily to earn a livelihood. The world most cases, think of people and places they have never been as a representation of what they get from their news sources.

My advice for fraud-phobia is simple: Do not attempt to enter a building through the windows when the door is wide open. Greed and selfishness is a sine qua non for being a scam victim.

I rest my case yet.

PS

This testimony on the real Nigeria was inboxed to me by a white American and a friend on Facebook:

March 15 at 14:54
Hi Henry – Please tell me the page fans. Yes, I know and I understand that – it's a shame that some Nigerians have not seen are wrong and / assumtions ignorant about them. There are crooks and scammers everywhere, and we pray for God's protection of these people wrong. I was used and scammed in person by people in real life, even here, most recently in Montana, and none of them has ever been Nigerians.

I used live in southern California and my son had a medical emergency. To pay for this I had to refinance the house my mother had just left me as she had died. I called every mortgage company I could find. I lived in Orange County (I hated him then, did not come from people there wicked) and I called the companies in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties way. Any companies I could find. I had just bankruptcy.

Finally, I got a company in Thousand Oaks, California. They all had accents UK. They were the only company of thousands of people who would help me. To help me have confidence in me. They were also Christians. I shared with them the condition of my son, and also that the Children's Services have been threatening to take my children, because the gap I could not find a doctor who knew how to work on him – he had / has a very rare disease (which is how we ended up in Montana).

They refiananced my house. I had the price of 6000 dollars to a lawyer just to keep my son home. Henry was ridiculous that his problem was with his knee and their main complaint was that he was overweight. It was not life threatening anyway and I had already taken to 10 different doctors and had the proof!

Then they refinanced again! They said it would not be easy with my bankruptcy and already a loan on it, they would have to find a private party. I pleaded with them and told them my situation and what was happening with my son. It shared with me that they were Christians too.

Everyone in the office has been so good to me. They all said they were praying for me and my children.

I finally sold the house that the surgeon I could find, who knows how to work on my son is here in Montana.

On the way to California, I drove by their office. I wanted to thank them personally for all they did for us. Their confidence and kindness kept my family. They have also been very fair with their rates and business relationships.

I stopped and went, and was so surprised they were all from Africa, Nigeria. They had been educated in England. And the owner's wife to this day remains the most beautiful African woman that I have ever seen in my life. She wore clothes tradtitional Nigeria.

Henry, these people were my angels here on earth. My parents have been passed from cancer, my brother was a drug addict (he is now clean and has found the Lord, God be praised) My husband ran to be a hobo on a train (true story) and his family, who were rich, do not care if my children were dead or alive.
These Nigerians saved my family – my children – the most precious thing on the face of this earth for me. I will never, never, never forget what they have done for me and my children. I am very grateful to God for them.

Also, I met wonderful people of Nigeria here on Facebook.

Thank you for hearing this story. May God bless you!
Sincerely,

(Identity withheld)

About the Author

Born on November 24 1965 in Lagos, Nigeria. Graduated with a B.Sc (Honours) degree in Psychology from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria in 1991. Has had stints in management and construction. Currently involved in Oil and Gas Consultancy

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