Fergie's Tech Blog

ABC Exclusive: Confessions of an Internet 419 Scammer

Brian Ross and Joseph Rhee report on ABC News' "The Blotter":

The U.S. operative for a Nigerian Internet scam ring has turned on his one-time colleagues, providing new details of who they are and how they work, for a report to broadcast on 20/20 this Friday.

Eric Amoako, a native of Ghana, made the decision to "come clean" and end his days of crime after being caught on 20/20 undercover cameras attempting to scam a California heart surgeon.

In a remarkably frank interview, Amoako described feeling little guilt about taking more than $100,000 from Americans who fell for the Internet scams, which often depend on the gullibility and the greed of the victims.

"The greedier the person, the easier it becomes for me," Amoako said.

The scams involve a variety of instant riches: helping a famous person move illegal money, collecting inheritance money from a previously unknown relatives, setting up bank accounts or cashing checks for suspects money transfers.

posted by Fergie @ 3/08/2007 11:57:00 AM