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'Prince' offers $51 million to help claim 'blocked funds'
ABU DHABI - It seems that Internet scamsters who offer millions of dollars to netizens they call friends have lost their patience after their tricks have been discovered by many. Instead of selecting potential victims carefully, now they are sending e-mails randomly.
Introducing himself as Prince Fayad W. Bolkiah, the eldest son of Prince Jefri, former Finance Minister of Brunei, a new scammer has sent an e-mail to Khaleej Times, Abu Dhabi Bureau, on (ktimesad@emirates.net.ae), promising 30 per cent of his $170 million in case the "so-called friend" assists in claiming the "blocked" funds which have been kept in foreign countries.
The scamster claimed that following the controversial dispute that erupted between whom he claimed as his father and his stepbrother, the Sultan of Brunei Sheikh Muda Hassanal Bolkiah, in which the Sultan had accused his father of financial mismanagement and impropriety of US$14.8 billion, their company Amedeo Development Company and government owned Brunei Investment Company were declared bankrupt.
"However, my father was kept under house arrest, his bank accounts and private properties including a crude oil export refinery were later confiscated by the sultanate. Furthermore, during this unfortunate period I was advised to evacuate my immediate family outside the sultanate to avoid further prosecution from the Sultan and his security operatives, but before I could do that I was placed under house arrest by the Sultan and I have no access to a phone but I have a hand-held computer from which I am sending you this mail. Some of the guards here still loyal to me," wrote the scamster.
He claimed that he managed to dispatch the sum of $500 million in cash under special arrangements into the custody of different private security and trustee companies for safe keeping abroad.
"The money was split and kept in the following countries in this proportion: $50 Million is in Switzerland, $80 Million in Spain, and $40 Million is in Holland."
The scamster asked for assistance to claim and invest the money in real estate for which the "friend" will be compensated with 25 per cent of the total sum and another 5 per cent to be set aside to defray any expenses that may arise.
Khaleej Times investigated to find out whether the message has been sent to others, the same scammer claimed in another e-mail message he is Princess Balkis Fayad .W. Bolkiah, the heiress of Prince Fayad. Though he succeeded this time to select a person's name (Beloveth), he did not bother to make any changes in the letter.
Claiming that the Sultan had accused her father-in -law of financial mismanagement, the scammer only changed the total sum to $520 million, distributed as $50 million in Switzerland, $100 million in London, $100 million in US, $80 million in UAE and $170 million in Holland. He promised to offer 20 per cent of these funds as compensation for "strong cooperation".
Investigation has also shown that the scammer managed to use protected e-mail accounts on several occasions, while in other cases he used scam yahoo accounts.
A security officer told this paper that such scammers, though it is obvious their messages are just scams, they manage to seduce some people who fall victims to their tricks.
He said one should use logic while reading such letters which are usually sent by fax or e-mail. "If such a millionaire can't cash these millions how could other succeed in doing so."
He said such a letter should be ignored and if one wants to find out for the sake of curiosity, they should send a reply to the address given and the next move will turn the whole story up side down.
"The scammer will then ask you to send a small amount of money which will be in the range of $2,000 to $3,000 for an initial transaction and only then you will understand it is a scam," the officer said.
He, however, cautioned that these scammers are "very" smart and are mostly investing most of their time doing some research to pick the right personality which matches their plans.
"In this particular case, the scammer has chosen the son and daughter of former finance minister Prince Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei, the oil-rich sultanate, who has been involved in a financial scandal. As many are aware, the Brunei prince was accused of diverting billions of dollars in state funds to his personal accounts," the officer said.
Prince Jefri fell from grace following the collapse of his flagship company Amedeo Development Corporation, Brunei's largest private company.
After a 19-month probe, the government announced in February that it had frozen the prince's assets and launched civil proceedings against him and more than 60 companies which he owned or controlled."Some may buy this and out of greed they can get involved in such a scam. "End of the day they will fall victims and be ripped off their money," the officer said.
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