News Story

West African Advance Fee fraud

Whilst affecting only a small minority of car sellers. the 'West African Advance Fee' or '419' scam can have serious consequences for its victims.

The 'West African Advance Fee' or '419' scam, is a particular form of email fraud whereby sellers are initially contacted by a buyer from abroad, who usually claims to live in Africa. The scammers will often lure the victim into a false sense of security by claiming the vehicle is a present for their son, daughter or wife. They will claim they are owed money by (or have a financial arrangement with) a client in the UK, and offer to send a banker's draft for the price of the car, plus several thousand pounds extra to cover the cost of shipping - all without seeing the car. The banker's drafts sent are high quality forgeries, which may even be accepted by the bank. Upon being revealed as fake they will be rejected, leaving the victims thousands of pounds out of pocket - and without a car.

Auto Trader's customer service department regularly receive emails from customers who are concerned that they are being scammed in this way – this website is part of the strategy of informing dealers and private sellers who may find themselves approached by unscrupulous scammers. Customer Services Supervisor, Richard Brailsford says: “We have received an increase in customer enquiries in relation to scam emails. Working with the police high tech crime unit we introduced our detailed car crime section to educate our customers. This has resulted in a significant drop in these types of scams."

One way to spot the fraudulent emails is by their frequent spelling mistakes and unusually-phrased grammar, as well as the occasional use of unusual names (see examples below) One unfortunate aspect of email scams is that there is no accurate way of telling how many people are receiving them. According to the Metropolitan Police website: 'True figures are often impossible to ascertain, because many victims, embarrassed by their naiveté and feeling personally humiliated, do not report the crime to the authorities.'

In short, the next time someone called Systematic G. Peel tells you that they 'await your fruitful response', the best course of action is to delete the email.

Names used by recently reported scammers:

• Systematic G. Peel
• Cusmos Blaine
• Willet
• Smith Sarolos
• Mr & Mrs Wallet
• Mr & Mrs Akin
• Dr Ken
• Lucifer Mallory
• Kermit Burkett
• Nolan Mock
• Ferdnand Idriss
• Captivity A. Anne
• Captain Bill
• Perry Gunit
• Munti

Example email in the 419 scam:

From: John Hopkins
Subject: CONSIDER IT SOLD.(PAYMENT AND SHIPPING ARRANGEMENTS).

HI,
HOW ARE YOU TODAY?FINE I PRESUME ,THANKS FOR YOUR REPLY, I AM OK WITH THE CONDITIONS OF THE CAR,I WOULD GIVE YOU A CALL AFTER YOUR REPLY TO THIS MAIL. I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR KIND GESTURE OF GIVEN ME A CAR OF THIS NATURE FOR £6,400 MY WIFE INSISTED THAT I SHOULD BUY IT AT ALL COST BECAUSE IT IS JUST THE EXACT MATCH WE HAD ALWAYS WANTED BUT PLS I DONT HAVE CASH AT HAND.SINCE YOU WANT A CHEQUE OR A DRAFT WHICH IS OK BY ME I HAVE DECIDED TO PAY YOU WITH A STERLING CERTIFIED CHEQUE THROUGH AN ASSOCIATE IN UK.HE IS TO PAY ME THE SUM OF £11,500 SO I WILL INSTRUCT HIM TO ISSUE AND SEND THE CHEQUE OF £11,500 IN YOURRESPECT YOU WILL CASH IT AND THEN DEDUCT YOUR £6,400 AND SEND THE BALANCE TO THE FREIGTH AGENT THAT WILL COME FOR THE PICKUP OF THE CAR AT YOUR LOCATION.

THE REASON WHY I AM DOING THIS IS THAT IT TAKES MAXIMUM OF 3 DAYS FOR A CHEQUE DRAWN OUT OF A UK BANK TO GET CLEARED IN UK THAN AN INTERNATIONAL CHEQUE FROM BELGIUM AND I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SPEED UP TRANSACTION IN OTHER NOT TO LOOSE THE CAR I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND MY PLIGTH.IF YOU ARE OK WITH THIS ARRANGENT SEND ME YOUR FULL NAME,ADDRESS,AND PHONE NO WITH WHICH YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECIEVE THE CHEQUE SO I CAN ARRANGE FOR PAYMENT ASAP.PLS I PLEED WITH YOU IN THE NAME OF THE LORD TO HELP SEND THE BALANCE VIA WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER AS SOON AS THE CHEQUE GETS CLEARED SO MY FRIEGTH AGENT CAN ARRANGE THE NECCESARY DOCUMENTS SO AS TO EFFECT THE pickup AT YOUR LOCATION AND I HOPE I CAN TRUST YOU WITH MY BALANCE I AM TRANSPARENT AND NOT DOWN TO RIPE YOU OFF SO PLEASE BE SINCERE WITH ME AND AS SOON AS THE CHEQUE CLEARS TRANSFER MY BALANCE IMMEDIATELY VIA WESTERN UNION I WILL BE WAITING TO READ FROM YOU SOONEST.
BEST REGARDS.
Rev.JOHN HOPKINS.

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