Hi Wolfgang,
It appears South Africa is a target for this particular scam :-(..read on:
'Lottery fraudsters using SA as their base'
Carvin Goldstone
November 16 2004 at 09:15AM
South Africa has become a criminal base for international 419 lottery
fraudsters attempting to defraud people from around the world by sending
unsolicited emails of false winning notices.
This was revealed by Uthingo Management Corporate Services Director Dawid
Muller at the World Lottery Association Convention and Trade Show, which is
taking place at the International Convention Centre in Durban this week.
Muller also released a list of lottery scam organisations that have been
attempting to defraud people and found that nearly 80 percent were South
African-based organisations.
But Muller, who also sits on the World Lottery Association Security and Risk
Management Committee, said the perpetrators were not South African.
People who fell prey to scams did not report it because they were
embarrassed
"They are using South African email addresses because electronic messaging
is more developed in South Africa than in other parts of Africa," said
Muller.
He said throughout their investigations they had only identified one South
African suspect from the Eastern Cape.
Unsolicited emails would be sent to people announcing that they had won a
prize in a promotional draw and instructing them to contact a claims agent.
After contacting the agent the claimants would then be asked to complete a
verification form, send it back and pay a fee to cover transfer charges and
handling fees.
Muller said while most people might brush the scams off, there were people
who fell prey to the fraudsters and were being fleeced out of their money.
He read out an e-mail from an American woman who had to file for bankruptcy
after she was fleeced of $35 000 (about R215 000) by South African-based
lottery fraudsters.
Muller said that in the United States fraud to the value of $25-billion
(about R150-billion) had been avoided as a result of awareness campaigns.
He said in another case, a victim received a notice of winning, complete
with the original signature of former Uthingo director Humphrey Khoza and
with an Uthingo letterhead.
Muller said some people who fell prey to scams did not report it because
they were embarrassed, choosing to forget about the few rands they had lost.
He said the onus was on the public to be aware of these scams because police
could not always dedicate time and resources to crimes that were about
happen.
We have worked together with the South African Police Service and together
we are closing down the sites, he said.
Take care and be aware,
Marlene
Wolfgang Rohloff (WH) wrote:
> Hi Group
>
> I know this is a bit off-topic but this is the only group I am
> Subscribed to from this email account.
>
> I would like to know from anyone here if the site
> http://www.freelotto.com and Plasmanet Inc. are a hoax or not. My
> wife got a mail from them saying she has won a prize but she can only
> claim her prize if she pays the once off $14.99 registration fee. We
> are in South Africa and do not have easy access to find out if this is
> legitimate or not.
>
> Any info would be appreciated.
>
> Regards
> Wolfgang Rohloff
> CapeTown SA.
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