USE OF YOUR NAME

It's amazing how people can use your name to create the impression that it is authentic.

Just look at the scam email of some or other person purported to be Eben Kotze of Imperial Bank.

It has so many obvious mistakes:

• Email address "sapo.pt" has no reference that it's from Eben Kotze at Imperial Bank;
• Eben Kotze was never the Head of Finance & Information at Imperial Bank;
• The so-called transaction and funds originated from the estate of one Mr. Williams Mitchell who died and had no will. It is common knowledge that when a person dies without a will, the Master of the High Court will deal with the estate according to the appropriate laws of the country, yet in the scam email Eben Kotze seem to be able to bypass all of that; 
• No details of the so-called Attorney that will handle the paperwork is provided - why not if it is legitimate?
• This email is considered very confidential and readers must only reply by email or fax, yet no fax number is provided.

One should search your name regularly on Google and other search engines to check for such scam letters or emails.

The real Eben Kotze can write a much better letter in English than the one below ... and use spell check.

So don't believe everything you read on the internet.
  

Scam mail from: Eben Kotze

Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 21:30:30 +0100
From: ebenkotze2@sapo.pt
To: ebenkotze2@sapo.pt
Subject: PLEASE REPLY
Mr.EBEN KOTZE IMPERIAL BANK.
140 Boeing Road East
Elma Park,Edenvale
Gauteng1610
Republic Of South Africa.

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am Mr.Eben Kotze, Head:Finance,Information and member of the executive and risk committees. of imperial Bank,South Africa.This is an urgent and very confidential business proposition.On June 6, 2000,a Foreign Oil consultant/contractor with the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Mr.Williams Mitchell made a numbered
time(Fixed) Deposit for twelve calendar months, valued at US$26,500,000.00,(Twenty-six Million, five hundred thousand Dollars).Upon maturity,I sent a routine notification to his forwarding address but got no reply. After a month,we sent a reminder and finally we discovered from his contract employers, the National Petroleum Corporation that Mr.Williams Mitchell died from an automobile accident. On further investigation,I found out that he died without making a WILL,and all attempts to trace his next of kin was fruitless.

I therefore made further investigation and discovered that Mr.Williams Mitchell did not declare any kin or relations in all his official documents,including his Bank Deposit paperwork in my Bank. This sum of US$26,500,000.00 has carefully been fixed in my bank for safekeeping. No one will ever come forward to claim it.According to South African Law, at the expiration of 5 (five) years, the money will revert to the ownership of the Government if nobody applies to claim the fund. Consequently, my proposal is that I will like you as a Foreigner to stand in as the owner of the money which was fixed deposited in my bank. I am writing you because I as a public servant,i cannot operate a foreign account.

I want to present you as the owner of the funds so you can be able to claim them with the help of my attorney. This is simple.I will like you to provide immediately your full names and address so that the Attorney will prepare the necessary documents which will put you in place as the beneficiary of the funds.The money will be moved out for us to share in the ratio of 80% for me and 20% for you. The paperwork for this transaction will be done by the Attorney If you are interested, please reply immediately via my email address and Upon your response,I shall then provide you with more details that will help you understand the transaction.

Please observe utmost confidentiality, and be rest assured that this transaction would be most profitable for both of us because I shall require your assistance to invest my share in real estate within your country.Due to the nature of confidentiality in this Transaction our communicationcan only be via email and fax mostly.Awaiting your urgent reply via email.
Thanks and my regards.
Eben Kotze.