Advanced fee fraud comes in many guises, and the growth of internet communications has provided a vast number of opportunities for the unscrupulous fraudster to apply variations of this confidence trick.

We have found that in most instances, the fraudster sends out a colossal number of emails to potential victims.  They usually 'harvest' the email addresses from the internet using widely available software, or buy email lists from commercial providers. These emails usually promise uncollected lottery winnings, monies held in bank accounts of deceased individuals, the promise of romance, and even investment opportunities that claim to provide handsome returns.  In this way the fraud itself is designed to catch as many victims at once, as is possible.

The next step for the fraudster is to convince the victim to send money to them (hence the phrase, "Advanced Fee Fraud") by wire transfer typically, although in some instances they may even provide bank details. The culprits will continue to demand money until the victim is either a) replete of funds and or b) has realised that they are being "scammed".

Contrary to popular belief, there are things that you can do to attempt to recover your losses and catch those responsible. In the UK alone, there have been many landmark cases where bank accounts held by the fraudsters have been frozen and monies returned to victims. This is only possible with a thorough investigation prior to legal action, to obtain all of the necessary evidence to see the matter through the complex court process. The fraudsters rely upon the victim feeling helpless, and doing nothing to pursue them. 

Much of this kind of fraud goes unreported, and so total losses globally are unknown.  It is suspected that advanced fee fraud costs the global economy billions of dollars every year, and is known to have links to terrorist finance and large-scale money laundering. 

To talk to an experienced advance fee fraud investigator, please call us on 0808 1350352, or email us: info@corporateinvestigator.com