For those not familiar with the term, Advance Fee fraud is a scheme in which con artists try to extract cash from prospective victims by demanding that they pay up-front fees to receive a sum greater - usually much greater - than the fee itself.
This sum comes in a variety of forms, including "found" money (such as unclaimed inheritances) and non-cash items such as luxury cars (Merecedes are a popular choice). More often than not, however, the alleged sum is a substantial prize ($3.5 million, in my elderly father's case).
There is no prize, of course, as legitimate sweepstakes and lotteries do not require winners to pay a fee in advance, to claim their award.
As for the so-called fees, the variations are endless. Some of the more common ones are:
- Domestic or foreign taxes
- Stamp fees or taxes
- Customs duties
- Package delivery charges
- Processing fees
- Handling fees
- Import and export surcharges
- Storage charges
Thankfully, most people are smart enough not to fall for such schemes, and those who do usually have the good sense to quit after being burned once. Unfortunately, a lucrative minority pay multiple fees, because they fail to realize that their phony winnings are a permanent hostage, never to be released.
A recent story about you and your father's story was carried today on the app of Kansas City's local Fox TV affilate. I've since read a lot of stories on your blog. I hope the media coverage revitalizes your blog and you can update us on recent scamming trends and new/recent resources. This problem continues to increase dramatically. My best friend, in the last 3 months, has had two older senior relatives victims of scamming...and maybe they are still being used and they are hiding that. They used many of the techniques being described in your blog from 2009 on. At 70, I hope I've stayed up on technology and try many of the safe phone practices many writers on your blog and you discuss. But in this fast changing technical world, it becomes more frightening the older one gets. I was shocked at the psychological dependence some people develop. I was unaware of that aspect of scams. I was a victim of identity theft almost 20 years ago by the use of AOL. First, a scary email that took me to a website that looked exactly like AOL: "to update my info". What I had to go thru even in the late 90s is burned in my memory. My friend and I have discussed, how can we help a vulnerable population? We both feel it is an issue Congress should be discussing and we both intend to write our Senators and Representative, but timing is not good currently to get any politician's attention. Concerned about the vulnerable senior population...BABS in KC
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