An international lottery scam related to the 2010 Soccer World Cup, which originated during the country's bid for the event in 2004, has now emerged in SA, so far affecting one local citizen.
According to a media statement released by the South African Police Service (SAPS), the scam involves an e-mail that claims the recipient has won a large amount of money in the "SA 2010 World Cup Bid Lottery". The supposed amount and currency of the winnings vary.
The victim is then asked for upfront payment before the winnings are released and urged to fill in various forms in which private information is unknowingly disclosed.
"There have been 81 persons affected by this particular scam worldwide, most of them from India, US and China," says Capt Percy Morokane, national spokesperson for the SAPS.
Morokane explains that, because of SA's association with the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the SAPS, working with Interpol, has been tracking this particular scam since the beginning.
"People from the outside do not understand how the South African lottery works, and that is why so many of them have been affected," he says. "Although the e-mail does not necessarily claim to be from the SA lottery, the association is immediately made due to our hosting of the event."
No luck
One South African from Mafeking, in the North West, has been affected, and was allegedly scammed out of R300 000 in December. Since then, he has been unable to claim the money from the scammers. He finally reported this incident to the SAPS on 2 June, says Morokane.
According to him, there have been arrests made in connection with the scam over the past year in SA and the UK. However, due to the sensitive nature of the case, no further details can be disclosed.
"The circulation of the e-mails is vast."
Morokane explains that this type of scam is nothing new and the SAPS has been warning people for a considerable time to exercise caution with these types of e-mails.
"These e-mails are very common," agrees Craig Rosewarne, chairman of the Information Security Group of Africa.
"I get e-mails all the time from people regarding these types of scams. That is why we need to establish a facility where these types of things can be reported and keep people informed."
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