We have all heard about the widely-publicised 419 scams that are currently doing their rounds. However it is usually from the perspective of a victim. The details of the perpetrators' slick talk and convincing correspondence is rarely revealed to the public. However we are pleased to inform you that we can exclusively reveal some of the tactics these scamsters are using after one of them contacted a member of the iafrica crew earlier this week.

The email read:

I am Dr Bernard Sankoh, I have a business proposal I want you to accept. The late head of state in Nigeria General Sanni Abacha has a fixed deposit of $11-million in our bank African Development Bank where I am the vice-president of operations. The fixed deposit has matured and has been static and if by the end of this year nobody claims the money, the African Development Bank will have to claim the money for being redundant. Hence I am asking for your acceptance to accept that I should summit your name as the person he willed the money to. The wife and the children are not aware of this money. Once I submit your name as the beneficiary of this money, guide you on how to send an application of claim, as the bank will order the payment to be made to you immediately. After the payment I will give you 30% for providing the account and 5% in case of any expenses made while I go home with 65%."

I called Dr Sankoh and he was very pleased to hear from me. To cut a very long story short here is a brief account of what he said. He simply repeated the contents of the email and informed me that I would have to go to Spain to arrange for the transfer of the funds. He said there were costs related to a “deal” of this nature and we could get the ball rolling if I transferred a mere $21 000 into his account. I told him that I had access to the funds but was not prepared to travel to Spain. We came to an agreement that I would send him a Western Union transfer. He happily wished me well and no doubt thought he had snared another victim.

Of course I have no intention of sending a penny but many people have become victims. The syndicates usually target wealthy business people or individuals that have access to large amounts of cash. It is therefore interesting that these street-smart people get caught. The Financial Mail reported that 419 scams are a world-wide phenomenon. It is reported that one account alone had collected $27-million. In 1999 the US secret service opened an office to coordinate the fight against commercial fraud in Africa. Its crime-monitoring initiative is known as “operation 419”.

If you are approached by one of these schemes, please forward the information to the police!

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