Please note that yet another scam involving an email purporting to come from the Nelson Mandela Foundation is doing the rounds.
The email comes with the subject line: “You are a winner in Nelson Mandela develop Africa initiative. Claim immediately”
The email is accompanied by a letter on a fake United Nations letterhead. Grammar is poor, but the message is that following a UN visit to South Africa after Mr Mandela’s death, it was decided that $100-million would be set aside to be shared among 200 “lucky winners”. This would be to promote entrepreneurship.
The recipient is told they will receive $500 000, converted into local currency, and a warning against viral internet scams asks recipients to contact “Dr Mrs Rose Marshall” at Barclays Bank in London.
The email asks for a recipient’s personal details: full name, address, nationality, occupation, cellphone number and private email address. This is dangerous “phishing – the attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, often for malicious reasons, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.
Please be advised that this is a scam. The Foundation does not send unsolicited emails.