Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, Aug 18, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, Aug 18, 2003 |
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Variety
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Security African conmen spread Net again G. Chandra Shekhar
Mumbai , Aug. 17 THERE are ways and ways of making millions of dollars in quick time. Innovation is the key to success in get-rich-quick methods; and now, technology is coming to the aid, mainly to mask the real identity. Many of us had been used to receiving faxes purported to be from some high ranking Government official in Nigeria seeking to share a part of large funds - supposedly stashed away in some secret account - if only we assisted in ferreting out the loot by first sending a "small advance''. Taking a new shape, the trick is being played from a new location: this time appealing to the sentiments of gullible persons. For sheer amusement, this e-mail said to be from United Arab Emirates takes the cake. The sender claims to have got your e-mail id from the International World Trade Centre in Dubai and the gist of it goes like this: Meet Prince Melvin Guei, the son of Robert Guei, Ex. Military President of Ivory Coast in West Africa who was brutally killed along with his wife on September 19, 2002 by the troops of the incumbent President. The $18-million Prince Melvin discovered in his father's private security safe (admittedly gotten through illegal sale of cocoa of which Ivory Coast is a large producer) was moved safely to Dubai with the help of a high-ranking diplomatic officer as diplomatic consignment. Prince Melvin currently in Dubai seeking political asylum wants your assistance to invest the amount in your country or anywhere else in the world under your supervision. If you wish to assist the Prince, then you should be God-fearing and ready to accept him as your family member, in addition to maintaining the highest degree of confidence and trust. For the assistance, Prince Melvin is prepared to give you 20 per cent of the total sum (that works out to a cool $3.6 million!) and 5 per cent has been mapped out for expenses, while 75 per cent will go to Prince Melvin and his family, which too he will invest with your help. The Prince wants to meet you face to face immediately in Dubai and wants you to telephone (number not given). Well, if the proposal is interesting and you want to earn $3.6 million, go ahead and contact Prince Melvin Guei on his email: pmg3_uae@indiatimes.com. This correspondent's friend in England, a renowned food technologist Brian Smith, says he receives four or five per week of these scams. But what hit him in this case was that the suspected scamster was using the email service of indiatimes.com, which is part of the Times of India group portal. "In case you do not know, and if you did contact the email sender, he would ask for 10,000-20,000 Dirhams to open account facility for the transfer and that would be last you would hear from the Prince," warned Mr Smith.
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