admin
Tom Muleya
Fraud Insight
Advance fee fraud is an old scam still catching many people off- guard.
Fraudsters racks in thousands of dollars through these scams. Advance fee scam is not limited to one specific action but can come in multiple forms.
Examples of these fraud scams are and not limited to the following: 419 emails and letters, inheritance fraud, online dating scam, career opportunity scams, rental fraud, clairvoyant scams, fraud recovery fraud, lottery prize draw scams, loan scams, racing tip scams, vehicle matching fraud, impersonation of officials, work from home scam and business opportunity scam.
Advance fee fraud is when fraudsters target victims to make an advance or upfront payment for goods services and or financial gains that do not materialise.
In other words, scammers make their money through advances made to them, once they get their money and hit their targeted threshold, they disappear into thin air and you will not hear of them anymore.
Currently the CID Commercial Crimes Division is investigating over 70 cases involving advance fee fraud where victims were made to pay for bags of cement that were never delivered. Victims lost a accumulative total of more tan US$100 000.
The public is advised to be on high alert for these advance fee scams that have resurfaced in the country.
The fraudsters in this scam just set up a bogus company solely for the purposes of committing advance fee fraud.
To make the business legitimate, the scammers used various recognisable media platforms to advertise cement at unbelievable price of US$7,50 to US$7,80.
Victims responded to the cement advert and visited offices in Harare CBD where they were made to pay an advance fee for non-existent cement that could not be delivered.
The promise was that after five to seven days from date of payment for goods, delivery would be made.
It is important to note that the pricing itself was a red flag because the normal price of cement is between US$10 to US$11.
To avoid falling victim to advance fee fraud scams, consider the following preventive measures;
- Always remember that all that glitters is not gold. Each time you see anything offered for sale at an unbelievably low price, it is highly probable that it is a scam, immediately tread carefully. When something is sold at far below the market value, it is an indication that something is definitely very wrong (mutengo wakarohwa nechando). The Ndebele version will put it this way: “kukhona okutshaya amanzi”.
- Exercise extreme caution when purchasing goods as fraudsters are everywhere and competing with genuine businesses.
- Contact the police as soon as you suspect that something is amiss.
- Never fall for every advert, approach every transaction with a detective mind set.
- Never advance money before you make your own investigations and you are satisfied that the business enterprise in question is really genuine. Many businesses that require upfront payment for goods they do not have are scams.
Participate in the fight against fraud and create a safe environment and crime free Zimbabwe.
Tom Muleya is a Detective Assistant Inspector working under the CID Commercial Crimes Division. He is also a member of the National Cyber Security Awareness Taskforce, Zimbabwe. Feedback: WhatsApp line: 0772 764 043, or e-mail:[email protected].
Online Reporter