Protecting yourself from scam e-mails

Advanced Fee Scam

Fraudulent schemes in the form of unsolicited emails are increasing and becoming more sophisticated.

The emails purport to be an investment opportunity from Old Mutual and often use Old Mutual letterheads and logos.

What is it all about?

The 4-1-9 or Advanced Fee scam typically takes the form of a letter or an email sent by a syndicate of which the members pose as senior government, financial services or banking officials. In most cases, the email or letter presents you with a unique and sizable investment opportunity.

These scams hinge on the need for you to invest or aid the official in moving large amounts of money across countries and territories. As reward for your assistance, you are promised a large sum of cash or percentage of the overall amount transacted.

To start the transaction, the fraudsters request personal information and instruct you to deposit money into bank accounts. There is of course no real investment opportunity and the money you provide is never put towards paying for services or fees.

Types of scams

Most of the scams involve fraudulent business proposals. These are typically about:

• Transfer of lottery wins
• Lucrative currency conversions deals
• Purchase of land or property
• Transfer of surplus funds gained from over invoiced contracts
• Below market-price sales of goods, especially crude oil and gold
• Pay-out of money from wills

Very often the fraudsters explain that the transaction is illegal in the country they reside in and that your help is required to complete the transaction. Some even go as far as justifying their efforts in light of questioning the legitimacy of the government of the country they reside in. This is of course an attempt at ensuring they get your commitment not to raise alarm on the transaction.

What to look out for

These syndicates employ several fraudulent means to convince you that the offer they are making is genuine and that the financial benefits are worth making payments upfront.

Should you receive communication claiming to be from a reputable financial services company or government office, look out for:

• Unsolicited communication form "officials" representing a foreign government or a financial institution
• Offers to transfer millions of foreign currency in "over charged contracts" funds- especially if these are promised to be transfer into your personal bank account
• Offers that encouraged you to travel overseas to complete the transaction
• Requests to provide blank business or company letterheads, bank account details, telephone and fax numbers.
• Official looking stamps, seals and logo that emphasise the authenticity of the proposal. E.g. letters with logos from reputable organisations such as banks and financial companies
• Requests that you pay up-front or transfer money into accounts as payment for advance fees stated to be for various taxes, attorneys, transaction or even bribes

What to do when you're targeted

• Do not respond to the unsolicited email or letter
• If you receive a phone call of this nature, tell the caller that you're not interested
• Immediately report the matter to the South African Police Service's Commercial Branch hq.commercial@saps.org.za
• Check with the institutions mentioned regarding the statements made in the correspondence
• If the email or letter is on an Old Mutual letterhead or mentions Old Mutual, call Tip-offs Anonymous on
  
  United Kingdom: 0800 028 5010
  United States: 0800 249 8145
  South Africa: 0800 222 117
  Namibia: 0800 222 117
  Zimbabwe: 0800 4105