The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has received many questions about the legitimacy of certain solicitations received by post or email. These letters or emails hold out the promise of large sums of money in exchange for payment of advance fees, transaction costs, customs duties, etc. In some cases, the recipient is informed that he has won a lottery. The letters and emails 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 to it as "Nigerian bank fraud", "Nigerian advance fee fraud" and "419 fraud". Suggestions that a lottery has been won fall into a separate category although the method of operation is comparable and the fraud is perpetrated by the same swindlers.

Several features of the schemes share are listed below

1. Sum of money (or a product), of lawful or unlawful origin, from a lottery, an investment plan, oil, a bequest, real estate, a bankruptcy, etc" will be made available upon receipt of an advance payment of fees associated with the release of the money (or product)
2. To initiate the transaction, the recipient must contact an official of the company registered in the Netherlands (or in another European country) 
3. The official must be contacted at a mobile telephone number; in the Netherlands the number always begins with 0031 (06)... 
4. Attempts to verify the company name and address in a business directory or with the local Chamber of Commerce all fail.  
5.  An invitation to travel to the Netherlands is generally extended in order to complete the ~ transaction and pay the advance fee  
      

 If you suspect that you have been approached by someone involved in these practices, pay careful attention to the following advice:   

1. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it isn't true
2. Ignore such letters or emails.  
3. Never provide personal information such as your name, address or bank account number.  
4. Never pay in advance!  
5. Do not accept invitations to travel to another country. Besides suffering financial loss, you may be attacked or kidnapped (with fatal consequences), as can be the case in Nigeria or South Africa; you may also risk arrest for involvement in illegal activities (under article 419 of the Nigerian Criminal Code).  
6. Be careful with cheques. The risk that cheques offered by Nigerians are fake or falsified is very great.  
7. Before doing business in West Africa, obtain information from banks, Chambers of Commerce, Dutch embassies, etc.  
8. Be aware that many false bank or security company website(s) are used to support fraudulent practices.  

You can find a great deal of information about the nature and extent of these fraudulent practices at  www.419fraud.com.  If you have been the victim of these fraudulent practices, you may inform the Dutch authorities by using the fraud form.   

Warning to the public:   

Since June 2004 the visa section of the Embassy is contacted on several occasions by applicants who show fraudulent letters offering employment opportunities in the Netherlands. The documents are supposedly issued by "the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Services Royal Netherlands" and signed by "Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs Islamabad-Pakistan". The (bogus) letters are used by the applicants to support their visa application. Although clearly not authentic the applicants claim to have paid substantial amounts of money for these documents. These letters are not issued by nor supported by the authorities in the Netherlands or by the Embassy in Pakistan.