Dr Jack writes to me today, offering me a scam that is "100% legal".

Oh dear, Dr Jack appears to have forgotten to include the "il" bit in front of the word "legal".

How very remiss of him!

Dear Sir,

CONFIDENTIAL & URGENT

Thank you for your reply to my first email. I needed to be very sure ofyou before I disclose my identity for confidentiality purpose.

Also let me assure you that this is 100% legal. Success is guaranteed if youfollow my instructions religiously.

Now that you have replied the correspondence with interest I will give you more information about the business and myself.My name is Mr Jack Sisano Director of Audit and Project Implementation inthe Department of Minerals & Energy South Africa.

I have decided to seek a confidential co-operation with you in theexecution of the deal hereunder for the benefit of all parties and hopeyou will keep it confidential because of the nature of this business.

Within the Department of Minerals & Energy where I work as a Director ofAudit and Project Implementation and with the co-operation of two othertop officials, we have in our possession an overdue payment in US funds.

The said funds represent certain percentage of the total contract valueexecuted on behalf of my Department by a foreign contracting firm, whichwe the officials over-invoiced to the amount of US$26.500, 000.00(Twenty-Six Million Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars).

Though the actual contract cost has been paid to the original contractor,leaving the excess balance unclaimed. Since the present elected Government is determined to pay foreigncontractors all debts owed, so as to maintain good relationship withforeign governments and non-government agencies, we included our bills forapprovals with the Department of Finance and the South Africa Reserve Bank(SARB).

We are seeking your assistance to front as beneficiary of the unclaimedfunds, since we are not allowed to operate foreign accounts details andchange of beneficiary information upon application for claim to reflectpayment and approvals will be secured on behalf of you/your Company.

I have the authority of my partners involved to propose that should you bewilling to assist us in this transaction your share as compensation Willbe US$6.625m (25%), while my colleagues and I receive US$17.225m (65%) andthe balance of US$2.650m (10%) for taxation and miscellaneous expensesincurred.

The business is completely safe and secure, provided you treat it withUtmost confidentiality. It does not matter whether you/your Companydoes contract projects, as a transfer of powers will be secured infavor of you/your Company. Also, your area of specialization is not a hindrance to the successfulexecution of this transaction.

I have reposed my confidence in you and hope that you will notdisappoint us. Thanks for your co-operation.

Best regards,

Dr. Jack Sisano

E-mail: jak_sisano@yahoo.co.uk
jsisano@strompost.com

This jolly little note plopped into my inbox this morning.

The writer claims to be an auditor with the accountant general's office in South Africa.

Of course he isn't really.

He claims to have access to a dormant account of $65M.

Of course there is no such account.

He wants me to pose as "next of keen", whatever that is! So that he can steal the non existent money.

Don't fall for this, it is a scam.

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE
AUDITOR GENERAL`S OFFICE
SOUTH AFRICA
ALTERNATIVE EMAIL

ATTN:Sir/Madam

Accept my apologiesfor writting toyou in this mode,it is my quest for a
foreigner and international assistance that i sought your help.

My name is DR GARUBA BAMAYI, an auditor with accountant general's
Office,South Africa.durining the course of our auditing, I discovered
an account opened with one of the branches of Co-operative and
commerce bank since the year 1996. This account was functional and
operative until August ending 2001, when the last withdrawal of
(USD$23,000) twentythree thousand United States dollars was made from
the account via transfer request to Europe. This leaves the balance
of (USD$65.000.000) Sixty five Million United States dollars.

On further investigation into the dormant account, I found the name
of the account Holder to be one Mr. Daniel Hans(aforeigner ) the
Director Danhans Investment Pty Ltd. A solid mineral based company.
From the cash withdrawal requisition he made through the offshore
payment office in Europe, it was discovered that Mr. Hans Daniel and
family are billed for holiday in United States Of America By first
week of September.

The story later had it that the whole family left South Africa early
August, leaving the Gardner in charge of their resident in South
Africa.The Gardner confirmed that Hans last phone call was on
September 10th 2001 before the incident bombing attack on the
Pentagon and the world trade center.The Gardner has made away with
valuables to the black Township of Soweto.

Now, the bank will release this money to any foreigner that forwards
claims as next of keen to Mr. Hans Daniel provided that the person
has useful information and necessary documents. It is a fact that I
do not know you before, my reason to look for your
address through directory was this need to use a foreigner like you.

I have plans to arrange all documents and secure approvals for the
payment in your favour if you accept to work with me. Your part is
either to provide your existing dollar account or you set up new one.
If I have your account information, I will handle the rest by
initially transferring (USD$65.000.000.00)Sixty five Million Dollars
into your account.

On successful transfer of the first phase, I will come over to your
country for sharing. We shall reserve 25% for charity organizations,
25%for your assistance,5% for expences then the remaining 45% will be
invested for me in your country under your supervision. Please
indicate your interest to work with me, by sending your phone and fax
numbers and the account information.

Yours faithfully,
DR GARUBA BAMAYI

I received this charming little note today, from someone claiming to be the South African Minister of Communications.

He says that he has $20M, arising from the "over invoicing" (theft to you and me) of a contract.

Needless to say this money doesn't really exist. However, our dear friend wants me to help him move this non existent money out of South Africa.

In other words he wants me to help him steal it!

For good measure he closes his email with the phrase "Honesty and transparency, they are my best work tools".

I have no sympathy for anyone who loses money, by falling for this nasty little scam.

Dear friend,

I am contacting you to front as a co-owner and beneficiary of funds
(US$25,000,000.00) due for an executed contract here in South africa.

I am currently a high ranking government official in the ruling cabinet of
President Thabo Mbeki (South Africa).

This funds are a result of over-invoiced proceeds of a contract I helped a
South African based company secure and is yet to be paid out by the Reserve
Bank of South Africa.

This funds emanated as a result of an over-invoiced contract which Sentech
(Pty)Ltd., a communications company executed with the Government of South
Africa. I am afraid that the government of South Africa might start to
investigate on contracts awarded from 2000 to date. If they discover this
money yet unclaimed with my name linked to it, the government will
confiscate the money and this will definitely affect my political career in
Government.

I want your assistance to front as a co-owner of this company (SENTECH [PTY]
LTD) to facilitate the release of the funds. I will introduce a very good
attorney to assist us with the transfer process without any hitch but he
will not be told my interest in the transaction as I play a very sensitive
role in my government. As the contract was executed
in my present government department, be rest assured that I will use my
position to approve the immediate release of the entitlement. As soon as the
funds is release to your name, you are expected to move it
immediately into your personal bank account in your country. As soon as you
have confirmed receipt of the funds into your account, I will arrange to
meet with you.

If you agree to my proposal, please endeavour to send me an urgent reply to;

Due to my sensitive position in the South African
Government, I would not want you to phone or fax me.

The lawyer I will recommend to assist us will be representing our interest
at the Reserve Bank of South Africa and all necessary quarters. All future
correspondence must be made either to the attorney or myself.

I am reposing huge trust on you regardless of your being a total stranger.
Upon your reply, we shall discuss your percentage for
your assistance.

Because of my sensitive position as serving government official, I will only
give you more details of myself when we proceed further and I am sure of
your sincerity.

Thank you.

Dr. Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri

MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS

Honesty and transparency, they are my best work tools

The scam boys have written to me again, this time from South Africa.

This guy claims to be in the South African civil service.

He has a shed load of money, allegedly!!!, which has arisen out of over invoicing contractors.

To be quite clear, if this money really existed....which it doesn't, then he is saying that it is stolen.

He wants me to get involved with his grubby lttile scheme, as he wants to make lots of money.

A liar, cheating scum bag...do not fall for it; if you do, then you desrve everything you get.

FROM:THOMAS KWANZI
DEPARTMENT OF MINERALS AND ENERGY
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
(MINERALS & ENERGY FOR DEVELOPMENT AND PROSPERITY)

CORPORATE TEL/FAX NO:
DIRECT TEL NO:011-
DIRECT FAX NO:011-

Dear Sir/Madam,

I know this email will reach you as a surprise, but need not to worry as we are using the only secured and
confidential medium available to seek for foreign assistance/partnership in a business transaction which
is of mutual benefit.

I am a member of the Federal Government of South Africa Contract Award and Monitoring Committee in
the Department Of Minerals and Energy (DME) Sometime ago, a contract was awarded to a foreign firm
in DME by my Committee. This contract was over invoiced to the tune of US$21.5M. U. S. Dollars. This
was done deliberately.The over-invoicing was a deal by my committee to benefit from the project. We
now want to transfer this money which is in a suspense Account with DME into any Overseas Account
which we expect you to provide for us.

SHARE: -

For providing the account where we shall remit the money into, you will beentitled to 20% of the
money,70% will be for me and my partners while 10% has been mapped out from the total sum to cover
any expenses that may be incurred by us during the course of this transfer,both locally and
international expenses.

It does not matter whether or not your company does contract projects of this nature described here. The
assumption is that your company won the major contract and subcontracted it out to other companies.
More often than not, big trading companies or firms of unrelated fields win major contracts and
subcontracts to more specialized firms for execution of such contracts.

We have strong reliable connections and contacts at the Reserve Bank of South Africa, as well as the
Federal Ministry of Finance and we have no doubt that all the money will be released and transferred if
we get the necessary foreign partner to assist us in this deal. Therefore, when the business is
successfully concluded we shall through our same connections withdraw all documents used from all the
concerned Government Ministries for 100% security.

We are ordinary civil servants and we will not want to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to get rich.
We want this money to be transferred to the overseas Accounts for us, before the present Democratic
Government starts Auditing all Federal Government owned Parastatals.

Please contact me immediately through my phone numbers above whether or not you are interested in
this deal. If you are not, it will enable me scout for another foreign partner to carry out this deal. But where
you are interested, kindly call me with these numbers NO: or CORPORATE FAX
NO:,for further details upon your acceptance of this proposal. as time is of the essence in
this business.

I wait in anticipation of your fullest,

Yours Truly,

MR.THOMAS KWANZI