Advance Fee Scheme
Any fraud where the victim is promised a large benefit — money, goods, a loan, a prize — but must first pay a series of escalating fees before the promised benefit, which never materialises, is delivered.
Also known as: advance fee fraud, 419 scam, fee fraud, upfront fee scam
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
An advance fee scheme is one of the oldest and most persistent forms of fraud. The structure is consistent across thousands of variations: a victim is presented with an enticing opportunity — a large inheritance, a lottery win, a business partnership, a loan offer, a government rebate — but told they must first pay a relatively small fee to access it. This fee is justified by a plausible-sounding reason: taxes, legal charges, transfer costs, insurance, customs duties, or administrative processing.
Once the first fee is paid, additional fees are invented. Each payment is followed by a new obstacle requiring another payment: a new clearance fee, an unexpected tax, a regulatory charge. The amount requested typically escalates. Victims who question the pattern are reassured with elaborate documentation, new pretexts, or emotional pressure. They are encouraged to keep the windfall secret, which isolates them from outside perspective.
The 419 scam is the most famous variant, named after the section of the Nigerian Criminal Code that made it illegal. But advance fee schemes operate globally and across every sector: fake loan brokers charging arrangement fees for loans that never arrive, fake immigration agents charging for visas that are never processed, fake casting agencies charging audition fees for roles that do not exist. The unifying structure is always: pay a small amount now to receive a large amount later that never comes.
Examples
- A victim is told they have inherited a large sum from a distant relative but must pay £2,000 in 'estate release taxes' first; after paying, new fees are invented repeatedly until the victim has sent £15,000 with no inheritance ever materialising.