This time, money for Kenya's Tragic Riots -- 2008
See Jan's letter below - click here

Scam Warning -- All Mission Supporters
Contact Bob Towell BobTowell@AOL.com  or Dick Ady weiady@AOL.com

Bible Scam surfaces again.

If you receive an appeal for money to purchase Bibles for distribution, it maybe a scam. A Bible distribution scam has been being worked since 2004. If you receive a request for Bibles and wish help in deciding if it is a scam forward it to BibleScam@aol.com and we will share the details of our sad experience with you.
Hamisi IS Fred.  He has created a whole very "interesting" cast of characters. 
Bob Towell, Director Internet Program
World English Institute.

for more information.

Missionaries warn of "Bibles for Muslim World" scam:
http://www.christianchronicle.org/modules.php?name=News&file=
Reference: The Christian Chronicle
Click Here

If you receive a request for Bibles for the Muslim world, be warned that others have been scammed for many thousands of dollars through such a request, beginning in May, 2005. The scammer is very creative; he has created many fictional characters complete with e-mail addresses and false locations. He has also created false e-mail addresses for real people and fraudulent websites for congregations in the Muslim world. It would not be effective to list any here because he can create additional characters and websites as it suits his purposes. He is expert at weaving the names of checkable people and current events into proposals with the ring of authenticity. His father was a gospel preacher and he has attended two Bible colleges. This extensive Biblical knowledge and “great commission” vocabulary are very convincing to those who are passionate about reaching the lost. This use of real people and current events make detection difficult.

In the case of the May-June scam, the perpetrator spent 18 months developing a story that ranged from Turkey to Yemen. During this time several thousands of dollars were spent on various projects and crises such as car wrecks and hospital bills. Unfortunately, he was told that it is “easier to raise money for the purchase of Bibles than any other need” and immediately developed the Bibles for Libya scam. He presented a very plausible way Bibles could be purchased in Kenya and shipped with Christians going on military training exercises to Libya. Joint military exercises between the two countries were reported in the May and June issues of Kenyan newspapers. As with all scams, the exciting opportunity would exist only briefly. During the first of three trips in May and June 2005, pictures purporting to be of Libyan Christians were e-mailed supposedly from Libya. These were later proven to be from Yemeni tourism web sites and to have been e-mailed not from Libya but from Kenya. Unfortunately, this was not discovered until the middle of July after thousands of dollars had been sent in good faith for the purchase of Bibles. Reliable brethren in Kenya have checked with book wholesalers and determined that no large purchases of Bibles were made in that time period. Because the perpetrator is likely to read this article, we will not discuss here our contacts in Kenya or methods used in tracing e-mails. As far as we know to this time, this scam has been conducted entirely by e-mail and Internet websites but, beware; the perpetrator has plenty of money to further his scams by other means.

The perpetrator has been called to repentance and to show his repentance by returning the Lord’s money. He has “confessed” to everything except taking the money intended for purchasing and delivering Bibles to Libya for his own. He claims the Bibles were purchased and delivered to Libya but has offered as proof only the testimonies of his cast of fictitious characters. Then, in total inconsistency, he stated that he created the fictitious characters “for the good of the Brethren.” The Lord will deal with his continued deceit in His own time and way.

For many months, we believed we were the only ones he had defrauded. However, in November, December and January, we learned he had spread his web of deceit to many individuals, congregations, and ministries. If you have received and are considering an appeal for getting Bibles into the Muslim world, forward it to BibleScam@aol.com  and we will give you more details and information you may wish to use in your own investigation.

HE'S AT IT AGAIN! -- Money for Kenya Request.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Fred Ogara has reared his criminal head once again! As you know, we have been putting out fires for the past nearly 3 years as he tried to con anyone he could.

We have received inquiries from Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, etc..... all of them obviously being Fred. Same story: "I can get Bibles into Libya (or Tunisia or Algeria ...)" We tried for weeks to bring him to true repentance but he merely compounded the lies, producing pictures as proof, etc., pictures he lifted from old tourism web sites. Most of you are aware of all this.

We had wondered when this violence in Kenya would bring him to the surface again. Today we were forwarded a plea for money for brethren in need during this violent turmoil in Kenya. Oddly enough, he used one of the aliases he was using 3 years ago! In fact, the same "person" who supposedly wrote to me from Kenya, a message later proven to have been sent by Fred while sitting at my computer, not 6 feet from me!

So we have this one stopped but who knows where else he will try? JUST PLEASE DO NOT SEND MONEY TO KENYA EXCEPT TO AMERICAN MISSIONARIES KNOWN TO BE TRUSTWORTHY.

Jan
Jan Towell
Internet Program Coordinator
World English Institute
www.weiady.org (news)
www.WorldEnglishInstitute.org (student registrations)