'Mildred Aristide' needs you
2005-10-27 09:59
Pietermaritzburg - The wife of ousted Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide doesn't need your help to set up a private bank account to hide cash because the US government has supposedly frozen all her husband's accounts.
The ³Mildred Aristide² spam e-mail is making its rounds again, only this time it is updated with the latest developments of the Aristide family and South Africa.
³Presently I am based in South Africa, Johannesburg with my husband and family members trying to start a new life. After discussing with a senior member of my family and husband we decided to seek assistance of a foreign partner with a good background without any dealing with drug or terrorist activities to act as a front on our behalf. We plan to send funds to your country so this is why we need a partner and your help ASAP,² the e-mail states.
Police have warned against sending money to the author of the e-mail, who is not Mildred Aristide but a con artist.
³I even suggest that people don't reply to this sort of e-mail. Just delete
it,² national police spokesperson Superintendent Ronnie Naidoo said.
Internet used to con people
He said the ³Mildred Aristide² spam e-mail is one of thousands of e-mail cons being investigated by the police commercial branch in Pretoria.
The website ³The Museum of Spam² says the ³Mildred Aristide² con has been in existence since July last year.
Sometimes the sender of a spam e-mail only contacts you to access your e-mail address for future spam messages, but recently ³spamming² is more commercial with fraudsters using the internet to con people.
Another e-mail doing the rounds is one from a Dr Michael Radford, who claims he is a South African civil servant, who requests help to open a foreign account as the South African government forbids officials to have overseas accounts.
Unlike the Mildred Aristide e-mail, this one asks for the victim's bank details to transfer a large amount of money. If the user responds, his account is more likely to be empty by the end of the day with ³Mr Radford² laughing all the way to the bank.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Superintendent Phindile Radebe said e-mail users must be cautious as the internet is becoming a hotspot for fraud.
³If you have received an e-mail which seems suspicious, I advise you to go to the police with a copy of it. It will then be transferred to our commercial crimes unit who will look into it to prevent others from falling for the same con,² she explained.