-----Original Message----- From: UNIRAS (UK Govt CERT) Sent: 10 December 2002 15:47 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: UNIRAS Brief - 440/02 -Advanced Fee Fraud (4-1-9)
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------- UNIRAS (UK Govt CERT) Briefing Notice - 440/02 dated 10.12.02 Time: 15:40 UNIRAS is part of NISCC(National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------- UNIRAS material is also available from its website at www.uniras.gov.uk and Information about NISCC is available from www.niscc.gov.uk - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------- Title ===== Advanced Fee Fraud (4-1-9)(Update) Detail ====== From: UNIRAS (UK Govt CERT) [[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: 08 November 2001 14:13 Subject: UNIRAS Briefing - 212/01 - Advanced Fee Fraud UNIRAS Comment ============== UNIRAS is receiving increasing numbers of reports concerning 'advanced fee fraud'. The following advice has been drafted with the assistance of the National Criminal Intelligence Service(NCIS) and NHTCU. Detail ====== The NCIS West African Organised Crime Section handles intelligence related to West African organised criminality. Strategic intelligence has identified that West African organised crime groups have a significant impact on the economy of industrialised countries all over the world. The main activities of these groups are fraud against individuals and companies and drug trafficking. Fraud committed by West African crime groups is estimated to cost the UK at least £3.5 billion a year. The most common type of fraud is 'advance fee'. This is known as 4-1-9 fraud after the penal code in Nigeria that makes it illegal. 'Black money' fraud also has a high profile. These groups also carry out highly organised housing, social security and other grant frauds. The profits of these crimes are often used to finance drug trafficking, where the same middlemen transport drugs from source to consumer countries. '419' Letters are distributed by post, fax and email. In a typical '419' (advanced fee fraud) letter, the author purports to be a senior government or central bank official who has managed to over inflate a contract, generating a personal profit. In return for help smuggling money out of the country, the recipient is offered a percentage, usually between 10% and 30%. At first no money is requested but once a victim has been drawn in, requests are made for legal and administrative costs. Victims have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds in some cases. DO NOT REPLY TO THESE LETTERS NCIS has hundreds of examples of people being duped out of thousands of pounds. Companies who have sent polite letters of refusal have their letterheads abused. If you do receive a 419 letter, fax, or e-mail please report it to your local police station and ask them to forward it to the local Fraud Squad. For further details see www.nhtcu.org and www.ncis.co.uk/waocu.asp The National Criminal Intelligence Service, West African Organised Crime Section however wish to hear from any individuals who have actually lost money as the result of these scams. All enquiries will be treated confidentially. Please contact them directly by phone on 020 7238 8012. - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----- For additional information or assistance, please contact the UNIRAS HELP Desk by telephone or Not Protectively Marked information may be sent via EMail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: 020 7821 1330 Ext 4511 Fax: 020 7821 1686 UNIRAS material is also available from our website at www.uniras.gov.uk - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----- UNIRAS wishes to acknowledge the contribution of NCIS for the information contained in this briefing. - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----- UNIRAS shall also accept no responsibility for any errors or omissions contained within this briefing notice. In particular, UNIRAS shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever, arising from or in connection with the usage of information contained within this notice. UNIRAS is a member of the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) and has contacts with other international Incident Response Teams (IRTs) in order to foster cooperation and coordination in incident prevention, to prompt rapid reaction to incidents, and to promote information sharing amongst its members and the community at large. - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----- <End of UNIRAS Briefing> - - -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGPfreeware 7.0.3 for non-commercial use <http://www.pgp.com> iQCVAwUBO+qStYpao72zK539AQFUTQP+KY6+qTr3YTHzWXhxhvGaMf25tJzD6Mbv pMbNhSlSImPdCiuKX/CZ1cO+tYUU243aImFuMUn+ZgjacHk1coKnFlI9n9EubUSG xM6uS2ngNTQJn/j3VuCBYRf6R0Q/ze9+pj8vp2S6qxh1hsS9oWAe/pjUcw8B7BET 5xJhOp045JQ= =k1DV - - -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- <End of UNIRAS Briefing> - -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGPfreeware 6.5.8 for non-commercial use <http://www.pgp.com> iQCVAwUBPfYImopao72zK539AQGnYQP6A3oWRsVvbX5cTmIZsTNwR30Vr7TeVZNn QYyzl6a3p+XxbCA+RI+FdgDoc+GQyqHpG6gpkUVYA78Pmg4lV0vLjaBv2pY4m4F+ Tq+Xi4RNpFTEXCJmJn6QCX24ulMWmkjALpfOLn2a6pET+ozgPmNFZmSjr+QfSujY iuRXPQHMg8s= =i53w - -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- <End of UNIRAS Briefing> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGPfreeware 6.5.8 for non-commercial use <http://www.pgp.com> iQCVAwUBPfYL14pao72zK539AQGnQwP/XP9sl0KVneyUowB2SRk1qPIfIM0Uy9TN 7Wgc/SdP3M/GNGwO+XuQwmldf/QVmPvH+Z8UxsZC9DQgqqPSQPuXR6b0t95BkFdw DKRpcyK0871IZeTkMdX27Dh8Xuaj5hMpB0uhUf+nq/SrWnn90g/WmvybQILMgfg1 Dk7kfNKcjiI= =ZCfM -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- IWS INFOCON Mailing List @ IWS - The Information Warfare Site http://www.iwar.org.uk