Are you aware of a fund at national treasury that could hold US$9,5m of money owed to you? Neither is treasury.
They are aware, however, of an apparent 419 scam that is once again doing the rounds in finance minister Pravin Gordhan’s name, and which promises to release the money to you in exchange for some personal information, including your phone number.
But you only have five days to do so, after which the money would revert to the government, the e-mail warns.
Treasury’s Xolisa Dodo said these scams emerge periodically in different forms, and treasury was aware of them.
Last year, in April, a 419 scam in deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas’s name was about an inheritance that needed to be paid out.
In 2012, Gordhan was also the subject of a 419 scam, but it was less convincing than the latest one because it was riddled with grammar and spelling errors.
The latest scam e-mail, from [email protected], and titled “FOR YOUR URGENT ATTENTION”, reads as follows:
Attention,
I write in respect of your fund brought to the department of National Treasury earlier today from Reserve bank under your name.
From the reports contained in the file having your information attached to the fund, the fund was supposed to be transferred to you from Reserve bank, but was not due to some reasons that were not mentioned in the file.
The fund is 9.5m USD. Are you aware of the fund? This notification stands as the first and final notice to you for you to claim your fund and after 5 working days of this notification, if I do not hear from you, I will have no option than to declare the fund government’s fund.
Please re-confirm the following details;
1, Your full name and address.
2, Your age and occupation.
3, Your cell phone number.
Revert back to me as soon as get this email, so that we can process the release your fund to you.
Yours Sincerely.
Pravin Gordhan
Honorable Minister of Finance,
Republic of South Africa.