Advanced Fee
Letter Fraud (419 / West African / Nigerian Letters)
Throughout Canada and the United States letters concerning
the "request
for urgent business transaction" usually the transfer of
millions of dollars, are being sent out to consumers and business'
via mail, email and fax transmission. These letters are
commonly referred to as Nigerian Letter Scams or West African
Fraud Letters.
The scheme begins once a consumer receives a letter. Letters
are sent by mail, fax transmission and email, while email transmission
being the preferred method of delivery for the letters.
PhoneBusters
have seen an increase in email delivery. In addition to
stressing the urgency and confidentiality of a transaction, these
letters will also stress the importance of trust and honesty
in order to make the reader believe that there is a validity
to the letter. For instance , the writers of these letters
will commonly claim to be a Doctor and/or a corporate entity
with a major corporation of Nigeria. There will also be
some mention of government involvement.
Typically, after receiving a letter a consumer would respond
either by phone, fax, or email. the response would be a
request for further information on the requirements and procedure
for the transaction. Once contact is established, the writer
of the letter will normally ask for an up front processing fee
and in some cases arrange for a meeting to discuss the transfer
of funds. Most letters come with a breakdown of the percentage
of money each party involved will receive once the transaction
is final. For instance, many letters received at
PhoneBusters
offer the following breakdown,
- 30% for the account holder
- 60% for me and my partners
- 10% to be used in offsetting taxes and all local &
foreign expenses.
PhoneBusters advises consumers not
to open unsolicited emails. Spam usually means scam
and the message may contain a virus that can damage your computer.
Copies of the letters
(regardless of country origin) can be directly forwarded to
PhoneBusters via fax at (888) 654-9426 or by email at info@phonebusters.com
Please contact
PhoneBusters by phone at (888) 495-8501
if contact has been made with a "Nigerian" representative.
For more information on Advanced
Fee Fraud Letters please see the below link.
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