What is Advanced fee fraud
Advanced fee fraud is a specific type of fraud. An AFF starts with an email to the victim, where the sender poses as an ex-government official a king, a corrupt businessman and so on. The email, traditionally in very bad English, explains that the sender has obtained large amounts of money but cannot move it out of their country.
The sender then offers the victim a share of the money if they help the sender to get it out of their country. To do this, the sender claims they need an up-front payment in order to set up a new account or bribe an official (this is the advanced fee). The victim sends the money but never hears from the sender again.
Also known as a 419.
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