Background

The advance-fee scam arises from many different situations: investment opportunities, money transfers, job scams, online purchases of any type and any legality, etc., but the bottom line is always the same, you will pay the scammer and receive nothing.

• It can be as simple as the scammer asking you to pay them upfront for an item they have listed, or as complex as a drug scam that involves an initial scam site, a scam shipping site, and fake government agents.

• Sometimes the scammers will simply take your first payment and disappear, but sometimes they will take your initial payment and then make excuses that lead to you making additional payments.

Recommended actions

• If you are involved in an advance-fee scam, you should:

  • Attempt to dispute/chargeback any payments sent to the scammer

  • Ignore the scammer, and you should ignore them if they attempt to contact you again.