News

Mandela foundation warning over hoax lottery e-mail

September 15, 2009 Edition 4

A hoax e-mail is still doing the rounds promising people a jackpot of hundreds of thousands of dollars for winning an internet raffle draw ostensibly organised by the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the 2010 Fifa World Cup local organising committee.

"There is no such lottery draw and the Nelson Mandela Foundation is not involved in any such campaign," the foundation warned in February, again in May, and reiterated yesterday.

The e-mail is just one of several fraudulent activities using the name of Mandela.

The foundation warns on its website, www.nelsonmandela .org, about the e-mail raffle hoax and other scams that have been identified so far and advises the public to check the website regularly for updates.

The "2010 World Cup Lottery Draw Notice" has been dropping into people's e-mail in-boxes weekly since January, it says. The foundation urges recipients to ignore it.

The e-mail carries what purports to be the registration number and address of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

It asks recipients to furnish personal details, including their names, addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth, and provides the name and e-mail addresses of an "agent".

It also warns people to keep the form confidential. - Sapa