FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 24, 2003

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Genene Morris (973)504-6327

NEWARK - Acting Attorney General Peter C. Harvey and Consumer Affairs Director Reni Erdos are reminding citizens to exercise caution when receiving unsolicited correspondence from strangers who purport to be from Africa and who are seeking to lure "reliable" and "trustworthy" people into entering into various business arrangements with promises of millions of dollars.

"These are fraudulent solicitations that threaten to defraud citizens of thousands of dollars,"Acting Attorney General Harvey said. "Pay careful attention to these solicitations and remember: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Never in life does one get something, especially money, for nothing."

"Countless numbers of unsuspecting consumers and businesses have been targets of what is known as the Advance Fee Fraud which dates back to the 1980s. Over the years, the scheme has taken on a variety of different forms. However the goal is the same: to separate victims from their money," Director Erdos said.

Variations of the scheme, also known as "419" after the section of the Nigerian penal law that deals with this type of fraud, have been communicated through letter and e-mails and have included:

• An individual in an e-mail claims to be a political refugee from Zimbabwe who has $150 million dollars and needs a safe place in the United States to keep it. The person who receives the e-mail is asked to hold the money on the individual's behalf.
  
  
• A man sends a "strictly confidential" letter in which he claims to be the "Director of Project Execution in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation." In the letter, he reports he was assigned to seek the assistance of a "reliable" foreign company or individual "through which we could transfer the sum of $27.5 million." The letter recipient is promised a 30 percent share of the $27.5 million, in exchange for allowing the money to be transferred into his or her personal or company account.
  
  
• A man purportedly from South Africa sends an e-mail seeking the assistance of someone in redeeming an investment worth $11.5 million made with the "South Africa Mining Corporation" by someone who has since died. The person who sends the e-mail claims to be the company's "Senior Executive Director of Finance" and that he has been unsuccessful in locating and notifying any living relative of the deceased investor. He then asks the recipient of the e-mail to "front as the only living relative" of the investor and to have the funds deposited into a bank account of his or her choosing. In return, the letter recipient will be permitted to keep 35 percent of the $11.5 million if he or she ensures that the executive and his partners get the rest of the funds.
  
  
• A man claims in an e-mail to be the son of the late Laurent Desire Kabila, the former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo who was assassinated in January 2001. The man writes in the e-mail "I was assured that you are reputable and trustworthy if you will be of assistance" and proceeds to ask if the e-mail recipient would be willing to deposit $10 million into his or her bank account and to keep thousands of carats of diamonds in a safe place for him. The e-mail recipient is then told the transaction must take place in seven days and that in exchange for agreeing to deposit the money and hold the diamonds, the e-mail recipient is promised 5.5 percent of the money.
  
  
• The latest variation of the scheme involves defrauding people who are selling expensive items, such as cars, over the Internet. A person based in Africa contacts the seller claiming to be interested in purchasing the item and sends a cashier's check drawn against a U.S. bank account to pay for the item. However, before the check arrives, the buyer explains that the amount of the check will be thousands of dollars more than the purchaser's asking price. The buyer then asks the seller to mail the difference when the check clears. The seller agrees. Soon after the check arrives, the victim deposits it into his or her bank account. When the check clears he or she sends the buyer the difference, as promised. However, a week or so later, the bank discovers the check is a fake and turns to the seller for the entire amount of the check.

In the vast majority of these correspondence, victims are given telephone and fax numbers and/or e-mail addresses to use to get more information. When people do seek more information and agree to take part in the scheme, according to U.S. authorities, they then become entangled in an elaborate scheme that ends up with the victim losing thousands of dollars. In rare instances, the scheme has resulted in the kidnaping or death of victims who were convinced to travel to Africa.

These are just examples of some of the forms this scam has taken on. U.S. authorities estimate that these frauds cost victims hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide and the U.S. Secret Service reports receiving 100 calls a day from Americans who have been approached or defrauded by Advance Fee Fraud criminals. Since January, alone, New Jersey has received dozens of such complaints which have been referred to the U.S. Department of Treasury's Secret Service for investigation.

"These scams rely on trusting people," Erdos said. "We are warning people to be leery and not to suspend good judgement when solicited by strangers who promise them millions of dollars in exchange for their participation in various schemes. Such a decision could result in serious financial harm to citizens, or worse."

Citizens who receive Advance Fee Fraud solicitations are urged to contact the Secret Service at 973-656-4500 (Newark office); 609-989-2008 (Trenton office); or 609-487-1300 (Atlantic City office).