Frequently,  SAPS Table View get requests from concerned community members enquiring the veracity of certain emails that do their rounds on the internet.

Whist these pages is not intended to be an exhaustive expose of the myriad SCAMS, HOAX and 419 emails out there, it will in the simplest terms, either confirm their veracity or debunk their claim/s.

There are hundreds’ of web sites solely dedicated to the purpose of exposing these emails and where relevant the web site URL (web address) will be included for your convenience.

 

 

 

It is believed the idea behind the “advance fee fraud” scams originated in the prisons of Spain but it is the Nigerians who are generally credited with invoking its re-emergence in the economic downturn in the early 1980’s.   They have become colloquially known or referred to the 419 FRAUD, or 419 SCAMS.  The number 419 actually refers to the article in the Nigerian Criminal Code -”obtaining property by false pretences - cheating, dealing in fraud”.

African countries known to have 419 operatives are, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Ghana, Togo, Senegal, Burkina Faso and South Africa.  Countries other than those on the African Continent are Netherlands, Spain and North America  - however, they are known to operate in many other countries across the globe - simply put, this is a global problem, and unless YOU educate yourself - YOU could be the next victim!

 

How to Identify Them.

The contents of these emails are so immensely broad and extensive to cover here, but KEY elements are;

The email will seemingly be sent to a single individual, you, but undoubtedly they are sent to recipients drawn from a huge database, numbering thousands’ of individuals’.

The email purports to come from an individual who is an upstanding and credible member of society or high ranking bank official or very senior government official, and he/she knows and has access to a huge sum of money, whether this is by way of a deceased estate or unclaimed lottery winnings or government funds etcetera.

The amount of the money to be gained will ALWAYS be given, however, to gain access to these funds requires your “kind” assistance, and for this assistance  you will ALWAYS be promised a HUGE percentage payout from this amount of money,  varying between 10% - 40% or more should you be willing to participate and become involved.  This is the HOOK.  Furthermore, your payout will be made in either US Dollars, Euros or Sterling.

 

The ADVANCED FEE FRAUD

Once you’re duped and drawn into the scam the fraud now begins to unwind.

 

Before you can lay claim to your percentage of the spoils of this HUGE sum of money, you will be advised there are government and bank officials that need to be bribed, taxes that need to be paid, release fees that must be paid and a multitude of other innovative expenses that need to be paid to gain access to the promised funds, and these fees need to be paid IN ADVANCE of you getting your share of the spoils of this scam  –  this is the ADVANCED FEE FRAUD!!

 

WHO do you think will be paying these expenses and taxes and bribes in advance?  YOU!  You will be required to pay these taxes and bribes and release fees by making deposits into bank accounts given to you by the operators of the scam and in return you will NEVER receive a cent - GUARANTEED! Please believe this about the 419 SCAMS.

 

If you get drawn into this scam, you will be contributing your hard-earned money into a bottomless pit of financial oblivion.  There are literally hundreds and hundreds of cases of good people who have lost literally everything, but the shirts on their backs, by being duped into believing the veracity of these emails and letters.

 

Once duped and depending on the operator/s and the tactics of the scam, unless you are totally compliant with the demands of the scammers, you and your family may be threatened with violence and worse.

 

• The BEST advice anyone can give you in this regard is to simply DELETE these emails!  Under NO circumstances should you reply to them in whatever manner, because you will only be confirming to these fraudsters that your email address is at least a VALID one, and your opportunity of it EVER being deleted from their extensive database is diminished to zero!

 

Due to the extensive growth of the 419 FRAUD, law enforcement authorities around the world are taking serious and drastic steps in exposing and crushing these syndicates and bringing to-book these criminals.

 

If you are an unfortunate victim of this type of crime it is strongly recommended that you report the matter to the SAPS without delay by phoning 08600 10111

This is such an extensive and varied subject and it is again, outside of the scope and purpose of this web site to be, by any means, an authoritative one on the matter.

 

Banking Fraud, in essence, can be broadly defined as the illegal access to an individual, company, group or organization’s banking accounts, property or assets which will enable the perpetrator/s to transfer funds and assets out of the individual’s banking facility into their own accounts for their own use and benefit.  Its theft by fraudulent means.

 

BY INTERNET

For these criminals to gain access to your banking accounts you need to be conned into giving or yielding your LOGIN and PASSWORD details and to achieve this, an individual will receive a bogus email almost identical to one you may receive from your own bank, and the mimicry of this email is almost perfect.

Superficially these emails appear absolutely credible and often their contents warn clients of multiple activity and logins to their account, or the hazards of internet banking, or a certain large sum of money having just been deposited into their account from a certain individual.

 

The essential message of the email is designed to raise the recipients concern and by means of a hyperlink will direct you to, what appears to be, “the banks legitimate login URL”.  Being alarmed recipients will click on the hyperlink and think they are accessing the banks login page and enter their LOGIN and PASSWORD details - in so doing you have just passed on all your valuable information to the criminals.

 

• Know this!  The major commercial banks in South Africa will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER send an email to their clients’ requesting they login to their banking facility or access their banking facility or change their login details from an email.  This message cannot be impressed enough - take heed!

 

Their modus operandi is as follows.  Essentially these criminals disguise their hyperlinks or URL’s as such - www.cpftableview.co.za may seem like the URL of this website, however, when you click on the link you realize that you have been directed to another site.   

 

The email will contain a URL on which the criminal intends for you to click and when you do click on this URL, you will be  redirected to an UNSECURED login page that is IDENTICAL in every respect to the banks login page and when you have typed in your CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION and clicked on LOGIN you would have just transmitted your personal login and password details to them, enabling them to login to your banking account.

 

• You can protect yourself!!. Firstly, EDUCATE yourself, enquire at your bank for more information on PHISHING, or source this information on their website, they ALL have information on PHISHING!!
• The latest versions of the most popular internet browsers have signatures built in that can identify phishing websites automatically, with the URL ADDRESS BAR turning a shade of pink or red WARNING YOU and the browser will almost instantaneously redirect you away from the web site.  Use the latest version of your chosen internet browser.

 

SKIMMING

On the back of every debit card, credit card and other ATM cards’ is a black magnetic strip which contains bands of confidential data.

In its simplest terms, SKIMMING is the process whereby a fraudster/s will attach a “reader and memory device” to the point of sale or credit card machine commonly found in stores, restaurants, chemists and everywhere they are accepted.  When the client’s card is swiped through the machine the device will copy and store these bands of data in the memory of the skimming device allowing the criminal to transfer this data onto a “clean card” at a later time, and thereby enabling him/her to duplicate the card.

With the information from the data bands of YOUR debit/credit card successfully transferred to another card gives the criminal carte blanche use of the card - invariably a spending spree will ensue - and you may end up paying the bill.

 

Steps YOU can take to ensure you never become a victim to this crime.

• Ask your bank to enable a facility that will send you an SMS when your card is used. This may cost a few Rands each month but will undoubtedly save you THOUSANDS of Rands in the event your card is skimmed.  It is well worth the expense.
• NEVER lose sight of your card.  When you hand it over to a store attendant or waiter ENSURE the card is swiped IN FRONT OF YOU!
• Check your monthly statements for transactions and purchases and report ANY suspicious activity on your card IMMEDIATELY to your bank.