Three days ago the Nigerian High Commissioner in Islamabad cautioned Pakistani citizens against fake mails sent from his country with attractive job offers or about their national dead long ago leaving millions of dollars behind, stored in bank vaults. It would only need some kind of certificate from close relatives to dig out the money.
Thousands of e-mail is received from Nigeria or other countries with similar invitation to individuals to get rich overnight. Some months ago a few individuals, including this scribe, received SOS from a former Urdu columnist and novelist, now living in the United States.
The e-mail sent in her name, sought help from friends. She landed in Nigeria and lost all her money during a taxi drive. Now she was made to stay in a hotel, with no money to pay.
Friends tried to help her and immediately responded to her SOS. The next e-mail asked her friends to send money through a specified bank and to a specified address. The novelist noticed the trap and immediately sent an advisory to all friends warning them of the fake e-mail, and that her account had been fished.
However, the number of such fake ruses that land on computers each day and it is not confined to Nigeria. In fact, electronic con business is growing rapidly and similar messages pour from other places including Benin, South Africa, and other African countries.
Internet browsers here receive thousands of such mails congratulating them on having won one million dollars in Lotto, or lottery, even from such prestigious places as the Canada and the United Kingdom.
Would the recipient of the prize keep it secret and contact a Mr Peter Made, to quote one name, among many others, in Nigeria, or some where in South Africa, mostly in Johannesburg? The trick is that the winner must keep the information secret but send about 8000 dollars (South Africa) as insurance money for transfer of the prized bank cheque.
Some times perfectly sound institutions such as the National Bank of South Africa, for some reason or another is named in this game. While writing this dispatch the scribe received another con e-mail.
This time it was from a Dr X. P. Guma, sent from the Desk of the deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of South Africa, 370 Church Street, Pretoria, saying stating that Mr Guma had control over ' the affairs of all banks and financial institutions concerned with 'foreign contact payments, and that he had some funds that could not be transferred or transmitted as these funds were unclaimed.
Imagine that imposter (?) was writing with the authority of South African government to have a deal with an unknown person to receive present $7 million. In addition, we receive several offers, even when we do not know who was the sender. Some times, notices are received from widows whose husband was Minister in Benin, or Croatia.
In one communication we learnt that the deceased husband had left million of dollars in some Bank Account, in an Africa, country. If some one was good enough to send her a certificate saying he was the next of kin of the deceased, the money could be passed on. She would split the money in two but a need a transfer authorisation would could cost several thousand dollars and the recipient of the e-mail is expected to spend this amount. Before concluding, one should mention a (confidential) e-mail received from Barrister Mohammed, Head of Delegation to the World Bank, some where in Africa.
He wrote: 'I am the linkman between the Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries - (Opec) and the petroleum sector in the West African country. I also attend Opec meetings constantly in Geneva through the sale of our allocated oil quota in Opec, I was able to make $10 Million which is currently stored in a box and deposited in a security and finance company here in Africa and Dubai. I want you to assist me claim this money as I cannot claim it directly.' One should he careful not to act on these fabulously rich offers. The Nigerian High Commission was right in pointed this out to us.