The Bank of Namibia (BoN) is warning the public to be on alert as there is an increase in "419 scams", well-known for duping unsuspecting participants of non-existent investment funds into paying a certain amount of money to fraudsters.

The bank’s Director of Strategic Communications, Kazembire Zemburuka, says the bank has noticed an increasing number of scammers seeking unsolicited financial assistance from Namibians to finance the country’s developmental agenda.

Zemburuka says scammers are targeting senior political and church leaders or their relatives on the basis that they have investment funds in foreign accounts available to finance the country’s developmental agenda, including the construction of mega-projects.

They claim to offer huge financial rewards to Namibians on the condition that individuals first pay the fraudster a certain amount of money to cover certain expenses, such as banking fees and administrative costs, before the fraudster deposits the funds in the victim's or his/her organization's account.

"The said fraudsters also persuade Namibians to approach high-ranking officials in the Government and commercial banks that billions of dollars will be availed for the county’s development agenda. In some instances, individuals are required to share the Bank of Namibia’s banking details or the treasury screens, like a blue or grey screen, to process such funds and make payments to individuals and/or organisations. It should be made abundantly clear that the Bank of Namibia does not receive money nor facilitate any transactions on behalf of individuals," cautioned Zemburuka.

Any proposals that involve the promise of huge amounts of money in millions or billions of USD/EUR currency, investment documentation with simple typographic errors in submissions, incoherent and illogical content, fake logos on letterheads that are clearly cut and pasted from various sources, are some of the tell-tale signs that it is probably a scam.

"Furthermore, the Bank has noted some perpetrators send their victims a fake MT103 swift payment, purportedly to prove that the funds have been deposited in the local account of the victim, after which the victim is required to pay some initial fees to access those funds. However, only commercial banks and financial institutions are authorised to utilize MT103 swift payment instructions, and those produced by the scammers are most likely fake and only used to purportedly 
indicate that funds within such accounts are legitimate," warned Zemburuka.

Members of the public who have fallen victim to these types of scams are encouraged to register a case with the police.