What is Advanced Fee Fraud (AFF)?
Advance Fee Frauds (AFF) use letters, emails and faxes to operate a confidence scam that appears to be a business proposal from officials from a foreign government or an existing foreign business. The scam uses stationery that appears to be legitimate and official, with appropriate governmental stamps and signatures. Hundreds of millions of dollars are fleeced from individuals around the world each year, with the United States and Great Britain receiving 50% of the AFF communications. Though there are various types of AFF scams, they all have some common elements:
- The communication was unsolicited by the recipient;
- The "opportunity" is urgent and confidential; and
- The victim is required to pay various governmental and/or legal fees and taxes before the victim will receive the money, which turns out to be nonexistent.
What does AFF look like?
Your business has just received a letter, postmarked from Nigeria, or some other foreign country, which offers you a "confidential business proposal" from someone claiming to be a Nigerian civil servant.
The official-looking letter informs you that millions of dollars were paid to Nigeria for an over-invoiced contract and now the only way to access this money is to transfer the funds to a foreign bank account, as payment for a debt owed. Your business has been selected to help this person and his or her colleagues to access the money by simply allowing the funds to be transferred into your business bank account.
In exchange for this service, you will receive thirty percent of the $35 million dollars that is in a holding account, accessible to the "civil servant". All you need to do is provide copies of your company's letterhead, your banker's name, address and fax numbers and the account number and name of the beneficiary who will receive all these millions of dollars.
I have received one of these letters. How did they get my name?
AFF criminals obtain the names and address of their victims by reading trade journals or advertising in newspapers and magazines, searching the Internet or business directories, or contact local chambers of commerce.
How does the scam work?
Ninety percent of all AFF scams involve the transfer of money from over-invoiced contracts (see above scenario). When a victim responds to the solicitation, the perpetrator begins the process of developing trust between him or herself and the victim. Perpetrators send out more documentation, which purports to "verify" the claims of the deal. Communication is usually via fax machines and courier mail, which makes it more difficult for law enforcement to trace the activity.
The communication between the victim and the perpetrators continues for a period of generally seven to ten days. The perpetrator then informs the victim that the deal is near completion, but an unforeseen government fee or tax has to be paid before the money can be released. Once the victim pays that fee, the criminal will find more and more "problems", supported by documentation, which require money to solve. This ploy can continue for months, or even years, as victims fall deeper into the scam and try to recoup their losses. During the fraud, the victim may be asked to travel to Nigeria, or some nearby country, to finalize the deal.
Once in Nigeria (or a bordering country), the victim will be taken to bogus meetings with "government officials" and if the victim is sufficiently duped, he or she will return home and the fraud will continue. If the victim decides not to pay any more money, sign a contract, or participate in the fraud any longer, the victim may be subject to threats, physical abuse or be held hostage until he or she agrees to the perpetrator's demands.
How to protect yourself
Each year, hundreds of millions of dollars are estimated to be lost worldwide to Advance Fee Fraud (AFF). Public awareness is the best defense to AFF scams. Anyone contacted with an offer to do business in foreign countries should take the following steps:
Verify that the transaction, not just the contacting firm, is legitimate. AFF scam artists use legitimate company names or foreign government agencies in their solicitations. Transactions can be verified by requesting a copy of the World Traders Data Report (WTDR) from the U.S. Department of Commerce District Office (contact information below). According to the U.S. Department of State, the WTDR is prepared by the U.S. Embassy staff in Nigeria, and it will list the types of organizations in Nigeria, the year established, the principal owners, size, product line, and financial and trade references. It will take four to six weeks to obtain a copy of the WTDR and the cost is $100. Companies should not send anything to a foreign business until the proposed transaction has been verified.
U.S. Department of Commerce
Office of Africa, Room 2037
Nigerian Desk Officer
Washington, DC 20230
Phone: (202) 482–5149
Fax: (202) 482–5198
Remember the old adage, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Offers to enter into get-rich-quick schemes rarely live up to expectations. Dubious offers should be forwarded onto law enforcement officials (see "What to do if You Receive an AFF Letter" below).
What to do if you receive an AFF Letter
Do NOT respond to the message. According to the United States Secret Service (USSS), anyone responding to this type of message will continue to be harassed for months.
If you received an Advance Fee Fraud letter or facsimile, but no action has been taken and no loss has occurred, please fax a copy of the letter to (202) 406-5031. If the correspondence was received in the form of an e-mail, forward it on to
419.fcd@usss.treas.gov.
If the correspondence was received in the form of an e-mail, notify the originator's mailbox provider that the originator's email address is being used to solicit illegal activities. For example, Yahoo and Hotmail have the following email addresses set up:
abuse@yahoo.com;
abuse@hotmail.com.
If you believe that you have received a fraudulent offer via the United States mail, you may file a
complaint with the USPS.
Washington state residents may contact the Consumer Protection Center of the Attorney General of Washington at 1-800-551-4636.
AFF scams can also be forwarded to The United States Federal Trade Commission at
spam@uce.gov.
Overseas, contact the Foreign Commercial Service (FSC) at the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If there is no FCS office, contact the American Citizens Services Unit of the Consular Section or the Regional Security Office.
Where can I get more information?
U.S. Dept. of State Report on Advanced Fee Fraud (PDF) – includes sample AFF schemes.
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