It is true, because somewhere millions of pounds are being stored up in an obscure account with my name on it.
I am rich beyond my wildest dreams – so I guess it’s time to head overseas and go on an extensive and lavish travelling holiday.
This is, of course, if I have to believe the numerous SMSes and emails that I receive weekly about winning some or other big prize.
And the amazing thing is that people (and quite a number of them it seems) still are conned into parting with their personal information and, ultimately, their hard earned cash.
This is despite the scam being so obvious and so ludicrous in its functionality.
I guess we step into the criminal trap because of the hope that the promised fortune is true.
We all want a better life, so the possibility of a winning box, even though it may seem implausible, remains very appealing.
To be honest, I am very sick and tired of getting these messages, and I feel for those who have been burned by these fraudsters.
I am certainly not an idiot to think I have won millions from the UK Lottery, since I don’t even play the Lotto here or abroad.
I am also not fooled into thinking my bank or SARS or any other important organisation will sent me a cheap e-mail that just looks fake.
Talking about SARS, they have been especially targeted, with members of the public randomly being emailed with false “spoofed” e-mails made to look as if these were sent from the receiver of revenue.
Examples include e-mails that appear to be from returns@sars.co.za or refunds@sars.co.za indicating that tax payers are eligible to receive tax refunds.
These e-mails even contain links to false forms and false websites made to look like the “real thing”, but with the aim of fooling people into entering personal information such as bank account details, which the criminals then extract and use fraudulently.
These cyber scams just keep rolling forth, and the criminals keep on hoping that I will fall for their tricks.
Well, that will be like believing in unicorns, and that there is no corruption in this country.
If I have, indeed, won all of this money, then I would not have to worry about the e-tolls or getting a red barrette from Julius Melena.
But we do not live in a fairy tale. The reality is that these con-artists still get away with “murder”.
Among the popular scams is phishing, which is the act of attempting to acquire personal information such as passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.
These criminals will, for example, claim that they’re from a bank and that you have to do various things online to confirm your details.
All this is done in order to gain access to your bank accounts.
Then you get smishing, which is basically the SMS version of phishing.
South Africa has one of the highest mobile phone penetration rates in the world and it is a wide open field.
Many people have received an SMS message requesting that they verify their account or in some cases an alarmist message that make you visit a false link.
All these scams have been aided by the technological era, for example smartphones, which enable us to have access to our bank accounts.
While smartphones are very convenient, they also expose us to a lot of scams.
Kevin Hurwitz, chief executive officer at Wonga.com South Africa, recently said that cybercrime is becoming an increasing problem globally, and is becoming more prominent in South Africa,as more people become connected.
“As a result, it is imperative that people are aware of how to identify scams, in order to avoid being financially defrauded,” he said.
According to him, the RSA Anti-Phishing service recorded a total of 1 42 new phishing attacks in South Africa for the first half of 2012, equating to an estimated financial loss of R71-million.
In addition to this, the Symantec Intelligence Report for June 2012 identified South Africa as the second-most targeted country globally, with one in 170.9 emails identified as phishing attacks.
South Africa has thus become a significant target for cyber criminals,as we have the largest internet connectivity on the continent, and this places consumers at a greater risk of becoming victims of financial scams.
Even though phishing scams are common, there are other scams that don’t involve phishing,which are equally dangerous.
These include false payment confirmations, unethical application download charges, credit card skimming and unscrupulous subscription services.
It is enough to make you paranoid. All these fraudsters are creating a climate of distrust, because, personally, I have no idea what email or SMS to trust anymore.
When it comes to scams we have to remember that if something sounds to good to be true, it probably is!
Anyone receiving an unsolicited email or SMS, which appears to come from a legitimate source, but requests personal information, should be on alert for a possible scam.
Recently, Corruption Watch bemoaned the fact that the national crime stats do not reflect cases of corruption and fraud.
And this surely includes how many people are conned by means of cyber scams.
According to the Hawks, cyber crime is costing South Africa millions every year, even though the scammers have to work hard to get a “hit”.
So, while it still good news that most people will question dodgy communication from scammers, there is always someone who,unfortunately,will take the bait – one of the reasons why you will always get scammers looking to make a quick buck.
One can understand that it is a difficult task to track down these criminals, it, however, remains part and parcel of SA’s culture of crime that is not being adequately addressed.
We can do our research on all the scams (they are basically splashed all over the internet) in order to ignore the fake SMSes and emails, but that will not solve the problem.
This is a thorn in the side that I would love to see resolved, because the arrogance showed by these criminals is not laughable, but downright irritating and wicked.
