Oh Those Nigerians

I can remember back in the days when we'd receive the occasional fax at the office, sent from Nigeria, offering us shares in untold wealth. All we had to do was hand over our company bank account details. Of course this was the famous 419 scam, named after the country code for Nigeria. In more recent years the scam was moved online. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that 419 is now one of the top export earners for Nigeria, and the success is born out by this article which says:

"More than 120 Britons have been tricked out of a total of £12.6m by so-called 419 scams in the past 15 months. "

You can read more about 419 here.

Of course, we would all say we'd never be sucked in by this one - clearly it's a too good to be true issue. But, as always, human nature is by default greedy, or at least that's the conclusion you inevitably reach after seeing how many people have decided 419 is the real deal.

Fake Art Online

A gallery owner in the US has been charged with flogging half a million dollars worth of fake paintings via eBay and online. The works included pictures supposedly produced by Degas, Avery and de Kooning. Sure hope the National Gallery of Australia and our other august institutions are not using eBay to spend their acquisitions budget.

"federal investigators had recovered 45 pieces of art, including paintings, drawings and pastels. Investigators have confirmed so far that 36 were counterfeits and expect the rest also will be fake"

"This is just a small part of what's out there. It's easy to believe we are talking hundreds of victims, nationally and internationally"

Apparently they've been getting away with it since 1999. Makes you wonder why it took so long for someone to notice.

All Talk and No Action

The Federal Government has launched a "broadband strategy to help more people access high-speed internet...which aims to coordinate all layers of government to deliver better broadband services across Australia". Except in true government style it doesn't appear to have any actual actions associated with it. Which is why the strategy has been condemned by the Opposition and at leastr one state government. You can read the whole thing - if you like wading through bureaucratic waffle - here.