FAQ

By far the greatest part of South Africa is malaria-free. Your chances of getting malaria as a tourist in South Africa depends on many things, including the amount of malaria in the population of the surrounding area, the measures you take to protect yourself, the time of the year and the recent rainfall. The malaria risk is highest on our borders with our neighbor Mozambique.

Facts about Malaria in Africa

• Mosquitoes build up a resistance to various forms of anti-malarial drugs - so please seek latest advice from your travel clinic.
• Malaria is probably Africa's No. 1 most widely spread disease and in most regions of Africa you should take protective measures. Although it is not possible to protect yourself totally you can reduce the risk of getting a serious, sometimes life threatening, bout of the disease.
• It is advisable you take some form of prophylactic drugs (get the latest advise from your doctor/ pharmacist or a Tropical Diseases Hospital)
• Cover yourself up between dusk and dawn, use a mosquito repellent and mosquito net and stay away from still water and dark damp places.
• Malaria can take from 7 days to several months to incubate and the symptoms range from headaches, pain and flu-likes aches to sometimes experiencing disorientation and high temperatures.
• You should seek medical advice immediately if you develop any of these symptoms. If you are not able to reach medical help immediately, doctors recommend you self treat with Quinine without delay and see a doctor as soon as possible. Malaria will hit you more seriously if you are recovering from another illness or are weak and malnourished.
• If you develop any symptoms that could be Malaria, after you return home, always remember to mention to your physician that you have travelled in a Malaria Zone. The parasite can stay in your system for a number of years.
• Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests RDTs assist in the diagnosis of malaria by detecting evidence of malaria parasites in human blood.
• Learn more by visiting www.malaria.org.za
• You can also contact the District Surgeons´ Offices in most major towns and cities for more information.
• SAA Netcare Travel Clinics
• South African Airways and Netcare, combined mutual resources, knowledge and expertise to form a national network of specialized centres catering for the medical needs of the overseas and local traveler. Being concerned about the health and wellbeing of local and foreign tourists in the country, Netcare and SAA set up Travel Clinics in Johannesburg, Boksburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London and Knysna.
• Permanent or Temporary Residence in Argentina
• The following is general information. One should consult with appropriate Argentine Government authorities regarding the various classifications of resident and temporary resident visas and the requirements to receive them.
• A SA citizen residing in the RSA, may apply for legal temporary or permanent residence through the nearest Argentine consulate or, if present in Argentina, through the Argentine Immigration Service (Direccion Naciona! de Migraciones).

The so-called Nigerian Letter Scam is intrinsically an advance fee fraud. The fraud is also known as the 419 scam, as the fraud is outlined in Section 419 of the Nigerian Criminal Code.

What Is a 419 Scam? How Does The Scam Operate?

It is also referred to as "Advance Fee Fraud", "419 Fraud" (Four-One-Nine after the relevant section of the Criminal Code of Nigeria). The scam operates as follows: the target receives an unsolicited fax, email, or letter containing a dubious proposal, often to assist the sender in obtaining or transferring a large sum of money, for which the target is promised a lucrative share of money as a reward. In some instances the target may receive an apparently legal and legitimate business proposal by normal means.

The variations of pretexts used in Advance Fee Fraud (the typical 419 scams) are very creative and virtually endless. Common variations on the 419 scam include:

• "over invoiced" or "double invoiced" oil or other supply and service contracts; crude oil and other commodity deals (a form of goods and services 419 scam);
• a "bequest" left you in a will (a 419 will scam);
• "money cleaning" where the perpetrator has a lot of currency that needs to be concealed;
• "spoof banks" where there is supposedly money in your name already on deposit;
• "paying" for a purchase with a larger amount than the amount required and asking for the difference to be advanced before the cheque is honoured (cashier's cheque and money order 419);
• a fake lottery 419 scam; and
• ordering items and commodities off "trading" and "auction" sites on the web and then cheating the seller with regard to the payment.

How Will The Wictim Be Defrauded?

At some point in the negotiation, the victim is asked to pay up front an Advance Fee of some sort (be it an "advance fee", "transfer tax", "performance bond" etc.), or to extend credit, grant Cash On Delivery (COD) privileges, or send back a "difference" on an overage cashier's cheque or money order. If the victim pays the fee, there are often many "complications" which require still more advance payments until the victim either quits or runs out of money.

One might think that it is inconceivable that a person could fall victim to such a questionable scheme. People have, however, fallen prey to the scheme to such an extent, that it has forced a number of countries to set up specific units to deal with Nigerian letters. There are no reliable figures, which can be used to illustrate the extent of this scheme, as many of the victims do not report the incident due to the embarrassment that it may cause them.

Indicators of a Possible Scam:

• The letter will stress the urgency of the matter.
• The confidential nature of the transaction is stressed.
• Claims are made that the other parties are employed in, or have strong ties with the Nigerian Government or the Central Bank of Nigeria.
• There may be a need to travel to Nigeria or one of its neighboring countries.
• Many forged official-looking documents.
• Blank letterheads, invoices and banking details are requested.
• Additional fees are continuously requested in order to further the transaction.
• Most letters will indicate that the transaction is 100% risk-free.

Strategies - Anonymous Bank Accounts:

It has come to the attention of the South African Police Service that a scheme is active in the Johannesburg area, whereby any person can open an anonymous bank account in a European country.

There is no reference to a company name that supply this kind of a service except for a fax number with a Johannesburg dialing code. From the information to the SA Police Service’s disposal, this kind of conduct constitutes a transgression in terms of the Exchange Control Regulations.

Prospective account holders are cautioned to do necessary research regarding any scheme and to familiarize themselves with the legalities of South African Law, before they endeavor to partake in any scheme of this nature.

Further to be very careful when and to whom they disclose their bank details, because a risk might be involved.

Generally speaking the dilemma exists that victims who has fallen prey to schemes are reluctant to approach the SA Police Service for help afterwards, because they have participated in illegal activities.

The South African Police Service established a Task Team within the Commercial Branch to investigate 419 scams.

The aim of this team is to reduce the amount of Nigerian 419 and Lottery Scam letters circulating through the Internet by forcing hosting and phone service providers to immediately suspend services to fraudsters, or else face severe criminal and civil actions, which could ultimately lead to the closure or liquidation of such service and hosting providers.

Nigerian 419 scam and Lottery Scam letters are currently flooding the e-mail boxes of innocent Internet users and website users. Most people ignore these letters, but the fact is that many people fall victim to these scams and lose thousands of US Dollars. The Nigerian 419 Scam is currently the world’s largest scam in terms of monetary losses.

419 fraudsters are arrested continually throughout South Africa as well as around the world. The problem is that upon the arrest of one fraudster two more are replacing him/her and continuing the mailing of 419 scam letters.

In addition to the losses incurred by the victims to the losses incurred by the victims, many people who do not fall victims become frustrated by the never-ending stream of e-mails filling up their Inboxes and are very keen for this type of spam to be stopped. It is a fact that not all offenders can be traced, due to their use of modern technology.

Most service providers have been requested by Law Enforcement agencies around the world to remove websites and e-mail addresses of fraudsters when they are identified. The hosting providers simply refuse to do so and repeatedly demand court orders to comply with requests. This is an impossible situation for Law Enforcement agencies.

Once a Nigerian 419 letter is reported tothe SAPS, their legal professionals will confirm whether the letter is indeed a scam. Notifications will then be forwarded to the hosting providers of the websites, e-mail addresses as well as to the telephone operators of the telephone numbers involved.

Once the notification has been served that their technology is being used to commit crime, the service provider will be obliged to act. The SPAS will keep record of all processes followed. Once a person falls victim to a Nigerian 419 Scam he or she can contact them to determine whether a hosting provider was notified of the client using the account for criminal activities.

For more information: http://www.419legal.org

According to the Immigration Act, 2002 (Act No 13 of 2002) in force since 7 April 2003 and Passport Control Instruction No. 91 of 2003 3 October 2003 issued by the Department of Home Affairs, two categories of models can be distinguished:

CASE 1

Foreign models who intend to accept assignments in South Africa with a South African model agency and sign employment contracts for fixed period of time should apply for a GENERAL WORK PERMIT, for they will be remunerated in South Africa. They should comply with all the requirements corresponding to such permit except for the advertisement.

CASE 2

Foreign models who practise their profession mainly based outside South Africa, but requiring activities within the RSA should apply for a VISITOR’S VISA prior to proceeding to South Africa.

Please note that models whose nationality is visa exempted (Argentines do not need visas for tourism/ business/ family/ transit for visits shorter than 90 days) must apply for visas properly endorsed.

Requirements as follows:

• a) Form BI-84 with 2 (two) white background and the corresponding fee (if applicable);
• b) Copy of contract signed between the model and the foreign agent, which stipulates the terms and benefits offered to him/her, including consent from the model that the agent may act on his/her behalf with a model agency in South Africa;
• c) A letter on original letterhead of the South African model agency, which explains the modus operandi in terms of which the model is practising his/her profession mainly based outside South Africa, but requiring activities in the country;
• d) A copy of the contract signed between the foreign agent and the South African model agency, that clearly stipulates the terms and conditions agreed between the two parties and specifying all predetermined legal responsibilities of the South African agency with regard to the model during his/ her stay in South Africa.