Science superstar in SA
Stephen Hawking delivered his first lecture on African soil to an audience in Cape Town. See the video.
Wi-Fi on steroids
Backers of the wireless data-streaming format, WiMax, say it will radically change mobile internet use.
Search News24
     Technology : News Get News24 on your mobile Terms & conditions 
Homepage
Sci-Tech
News
South Africa
Africa
World
Sport
Entertainment
Finance
Health
Galleries
 
Zimbabwe
Power Crisis
US Elections
Aids Focus
More...
 
MyNews24
Columnists
Sports Columnists
Feedback
 
National Lottery
UK Lottery
Travel
Competitions
Horoscopes
TV Guides
Classifieds
Super 14 game
 
Sudoku
Scrabble
Wacky Words
Word Cube
Creepy Crossword
Golf Solitaire
Battleship
 
Stidy
Urban Trash
Treknet
 
Newsletters
Weather

Cape Town:
16-24°C

Durban:
17-25°C

Johannesburg:
6-21°C

Weather Page

Traffic
Gauteng KwaZulu-Natal Eastern Cape Western Cape
All regions
Indicators
Rand/$ 7.5700
Rand/£ 14.7600
Rand/€ 11.7000
Gold/oz $865.95
Gold Mining 2482.12
+0.00%
All-share index 31999.02
+0.00%
 
Afrikaans
English

Ex-cop tackles online scams
05/09/2007 14:04  - (SA)  

  • Farmer falls for net dating scam
  • Internet scammer faces jail
  • New phone-your-bank scam
  • Ilse Arendse

    Cape Town - A new website named Scamletters.com has been launched in an effort to prevent computer users from falling prey to online fraudsters.

    The site, created by Rian Visser, a former member of the SA Police Service (SAPS) Commercial Branch and founder of 419Legal.org, lets users report scam letters by adding them to the site's database.

    Visser told News24: "I knew that it was difficult for law enforcement agencies to deal with the large amount of scam letters reported and decided to start a facility where the public and law enforcement agencies could benefit.

    "Here scam letters can be reported with minimum trouble and law enforcement agencies can conduct useful investigations without using resources of their own.

    "My biggest advantage is that people who conduct internet searches on information that could be contained in reported scam letters, will immediately find the results in the world's biggest search engines."

    Visser said the site, which was opened for testing on September 1 and officially opened to the public on September 4, has so far received 150 scam letters on a daily basis.

    "We were also already contacted by various law enforcement agencies, including some divisions in the SAPS," Visser added.

    The site is managed by Visser and 15 volunteers - the website is automated, but the volunteers assist in answering user queries and ensure that scam letters are reported correctly.

     
     



    About us | Advertise | Contact us | Job opportunities | Press Releases | Site map

    Back to top
     Sponsored links
    Life Insurance
    Car Insurance
    UK Lottery
    First for Women
    Your Homeloan
    Bid or Buy
    Medical Aid
    Education
    SA TV online
    Car Rental
    Credit cards
    Personal Loans
    Best Car Deals
    Compare Quotes
    Life Insurance for Women