A ZIMBABWEAN man has been arrested in India for online fraud.
Johnson Makambo allegedly lied to an Indian national that he had won an online lottery worth US$11.7 million.
Police said Makambo sent an SMS to Satish Khuma, a resident of the Bangalore industrial heartland of Peenya, telling him of his newly found riches.
The Zimbabwean is said to have asked Khuma to get in touch with him and deposit in his account about US$10,500 for tax clearance.
Police said, taken in by the SMS, Satish deposited US$2,000 in the bank account mentioned by Makambo.
However, when the promised riches proved elusive, Satish informed the police leading to Makombo’s arrest.
The trick, known as a 419 scam, confidence con intended to persuade the target individual to part with money in order to reap greater rewards.
The original 419 scams were sent by letter, telex and fax as a result of the Nigerian Oil Crisis in the 1980's. The original targets were businessmen wishing to make money from illegal deals, but this soon expanded to include western businessmen.
With the advent of wider e-mail use came a new form with which a scam could be executed, and the target audience also grew.