Financial fraud warning!

The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has reeived many questions about the legitimacy of certain solicitations received by post or e-mail. These letters or e-mails hold out the promise of large sums of money in exchange for payment of advanced fees, transactions costs, customs duties, etc. In some cases, the recipients is informed that he has won a lottery. The letters and e-mails also state that the financial or other transactions have been initiated by companies registered in the Netherlands or other European countries.

The Embassy wishes to make it absolutely clear that, in all probability, such requests are fraudulent and are related to a well-known financial swindle which first appeared in West Africa in the 1980s. The swindle is now so widespread that national and international law enforcement authorities refer it as "Nigerian bank fraud", "Nigerian advance fee fraud". Suggestions that a lottery has been won fall into separate cattegory although the method of operatioon is comparable and the fraud is perpetrated by the same swindlers.

Several features the schemes share are listed below:

a) a sum of money (or a product), of alawful or unlawful origin, from a lottery, an investment plan, oil, a bequest, real estate, abankruptcy, etc., will be made available upon receipt of an advance payment of fees associated with the release of the moeny (or product);

b) to initiate the transaction, the recipient must contact an official of the company registered in the Netherlands (or in another Euroepan country);

c) the official must be contacted at a mobile telephone number. In the Netherlands the number alwys begins with 00 31 (06)... ;

d) attempts to verify the company name and address in a business directory or with the local Chamber of Commerce all fail;

e) an invitation to travel to the Netherlandss is generally extended in order to complete the transaction and pay the advance fee.

If you are still uncertain about hte silicitation after having read this information, you may contact the Embassy.

You can find a great deal of information about the nature and extent of these fraudulent practises at  www.419fraud.com

The police recieve so many reports of this nature that in many cases they do not send confirmation of receipt. Because of the methods used by thses swindlers (internet, mobile telephoe numbers, fake addresses and names, bank accounts which only exist for a matter of days), in most cases it is extremely difficult to track down the perpetrators or recover the victim's money.