A fool and his money are soon parted - and there are plenty of international sharks waiting to do the parting, reports SCOTT MACLEOD.
Angolan rebel leader Abdul Mohammed is promising two Auckland gift-wrapping merchants nearly $US5 million - although there is a catch.
To claim their booty, Ribbon 'n' Blues owners Roger and Rhyll Willoughby must first help the exiled major to shift a secret $US19 million fund out of South Africa before evil forces execute him and his family.
Just why the Browns Bay couple should be chosen for this remarkable opportunity seems a mystery until one considers Major Mohammed is almost certainly an international fraudster.
Mrs Willoughby says the handsome offer arrived out of the blue last month, by fax. She suspects that her number was lifted from an easily available fax directory.
Her experience mirrors that of thousands of New Zealanders who have been showered with faxes, phone calls and e-mails promising all sorts of riches. Kiwis have already been fleeced of millions of dollars.
Major Mohammed's strong African accent made him tricky to understand when the Herald phoned him on Friday, but he did confirm that he was seeking help to shift lots of money.
He wanted a New Zealander to fly to South Africa and set up bank accounts for the cash. He was unable to do so himself because he would almost certainly be killed.
"They are trying to hurt me and I just want you to help me," he said. "My family's in danger. The money is here. You come to South Africa and open your own account."
It is likely that anyone foolish enough to accept would lose money, probably in paying bogus fees or taxes needed to unlock the fund.
But Major Mohammed will have to take his chances with the assassins for now, because the Willoughbys are not interested. Nor are they interested in the American man who phoned them with a similar dodgy offer.
But many other people have been sucked in.
Perhaps the best known is former Auckland Citibank executive Graeme Kenneth Rutherfurd, yet to be sentenced for swindling $7 million out of his rich friends and blowing the lot in a Nigerian scam.
But there are also humbler victims, like the elderly chap in Dunedin who was told he had won a huge prize which he would receive after paying tax. Earlier this year he sent his life savings of $79,000 to Canada, but is yet to get a bean back.
Also this year, another Dunedin man killed himself in despair after he splashed out on a flash car and other items while awaiting a big payout from a lottery that proved to be bogus.
Scam-hunters at the Ministry of Consumer Affairs say those ripoffs are typical, and New Zealanders are still falling for them. The ministry knows of 140 rackets running in this country - considered to be a "drop in the bucket" compared with the true figure.
It warns the innocent to be wary of the following pitches used by scam artists:
You can work from home but are required to send money overseas.
You can enter a lucrative prize draw, but must send money first.
You can make big bucks by recruiting other people rather than selling real products or services.
An eminent public figure from a foreign country offers you interest on large sums of cash in return for supplying a bank account to hold the money.
That last one is known as the Nigerian Letter Scam, but is now operating out of many countries. For instance, South Africa seems to be the favoured spot for dozens of ex-Army folk claiming to have huge sums of money. Apart from Major Mohammed, the Herald has letters from Umaru Koromah jun, who needs help with $US20.4 million in Johannesburg, and supposed Sierra Leone presidential adviser Colonel John Daku, who is troubled with some $US15 million in Pretoria.
"I served on the Presidency office on defence and my position of responsibility and authority," Colonel Daku's garbled fax announced to The Stringed Instrument Company of Mt Eden last month. "Presently the existence of this money is unknown to any body. I want to invest this money offshore in viable business ventures through your company on a mutual personal and business relationship."
African frauds such as these are renowned for their audacity, but most swindlers are more subtle and tend to hunt their prey over the burgeoning medium of the internet.
Consumer Affairs spokeswoman Judy Cochrane says fraudsters running lottery and prize swindles seem to be sharing their mailing lists, meaning that some New Zealanders are being hit with 15 or more dodgy offers in a short time. Those fraudsters are hard to catch because they run their scams from post office box numbers, often in Canada.
Ms Cochrane says the more interesting swindles exploit the vanity of potential victims - including the Woman of the Year letters that were stuffed into many New Zealand mailboxes last Mother's Day.
"Congratulations, you have been nominated for Woman of the Year," the fraudsters said. "Simply send us $100 and you will receive a certificate. Send another $100 for your special plaque."
Some prize and lottery scams prey on other human failings, such as a desire to believe in good fortune. "We all build up an expectation that we are going to be lucky at some time in our lives," says Ms Cochrane.
Others cost the unwary time and trouble. United States authorities recently pounced on 140 truck drivers who had been working illegally in their country and deported many of them - including Australians and New Zealanders. One told the Herald he was "mucked about badly" and was in limbo until the Americans finished their inquiry.
The drivers apparently thought they were entitled to work in the US. A 43-year-old New Zealand man is accused of sending the drivers, and faces extradition from Australia to Arkansas.
Such ripoffs have become so prevalent that Consumer Affairs has been running a Scamwatch system since October to publicise known frauds.
So, how to avoid all those pitfalls?
The ministry has one golden rule: if it seems too good to be true it probably is.
WATCH OUT FOR THESE
Pyramid schemes
(have been warned or prosecuted in NZ)
Cash Club, Charity Bond, David Stein Scheme, Delta Direct Direct Mail Network, Downline Building Group, Edward L Green, Envelope Stuffing, Equitynet, Five Dollar Gimmick (Buzzard Holdings Ltd), Fortuna Alliance, Global Gold Marketing, Global Interactive Investment Club, Homelend (or Homenet), Grove Marketing, Joker 88, Liberty Group, Mail Order 2000, Maximus Intermediaries Ltd, New Inc, Perpetual Income Trust, Pony Express, Quantum, Rapido, Star International, Telecard, Toward Ultimate Financial Freedom Programme (Tuff), Trans-Global Investments, Vanilla Gold Accumulation Plan, Vera Corp, Worldwide Wealth Creators Scheme, $7000 in two weeks scheme, $50,000 scheme.
Lotteries and prize scams
BigLotto.com, Canadian Equity Fund, Cash Bonanza, Eva du Maurier (horoscope), Fabulous Fortune, Global Processing Centre, Health Matters, International Monetary Funding (IMF), ISO Awards, International Direct Inc, Instant Wealth, International Merchandise Centre, International Riches, Leeds and Winthrop, Money Madness, Money Mania, Park Avenue Prizes, Pot Of Gold, Prize Claim Services, Queen's Fortune, Royal Riches, SMJ Distribution Inc, Transworld Lottery Commission, United Equity Fund, World Currency Transfer Reserve.
Also beware of offers from these Canadian addresses: PO Box 58 008, Vancouver; PO Box 94 310, Richmond; and 7680 River Rd, Richmond.
Unregulated investment schemes
Enterprise Solutions 2000 (betting), Imperial Consolidated Securities, IMI Pacific (prime bank schemes), Investors International.
Others
Bogus bank staff asking for account details by phone; West Indian-based Given in Freedom Trust (a type of pyramid scheme); pro forma invoicing (bogus salespeople falsely billing companies for adverts that have never been printed).
* Source: Ministry of Consumer Affairs (Scamwatch)
Fraud knows no frontiers
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