Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Coppermine (Nov 26/01) - Nunavut RCMP are warning residents not to respond to an unsolicited fax offering a reward for sheltering $20 million US for the mistress of late Congolese president Laurent Kabila.

Though it is addressed from "Ms. Titi Kabila, the Marble Palace, Kinshasa," the fax was sent from a District of Columbia area code in the U.S., noted Qurluqtuq businessman Ken Chapman.

"I feel it's some kind of scam," said Chapman, who found the message in his fax machine Thursday. "If you're gullible enough to get involved, one of the things they would ask for is your bank account number, then drain your bank account."

The message appeared in the past few weeks on fax machines in Iqaluit, Kimmirut, Pangnirtung and Clyde River.

Iqaluit RCMP agreed. In a Nov. 15 press release, the detachment's commercial crime unit said anyone acting on such a letter would likely end up being a victim of fraud.

"Contact with the authors of these letters is strongly discouraged," advised the RCMP in the release.

The fax weaves an intriguing yarn about the new president seizing all of Kabila's assets, leaving the mistress destitute. It asks that the "CEO/President" receiving the fax provide a bank account to hide $20 million secretly left her by the late president.

The fax began appearing in Canada six months ago.