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What is Advance Fee Fraud?
Advance fee fraud will be familiar to many and most will have had mail delivered either electronically or through the post with the promise of vast returns for an advance fee. In legal terms, what is advance fee fraud?
The legal advance fee fraud definition is as follows:
The targeting victims to make advance or upfront payments for goods, services and/or financial gains that do not materialise.
These crimes involve a confidence trick in which the target is persuaded to advance sums of money, in the hope of realising a significantly larger gain, such as money, products or services.
Advance fee fraud examples include:
- Ticket scams
- Work from home/business opportunity scams
- Loan scams
- Lottery prize draw scams
- Career opportunity scams
- Impersonation of officials
- Online dating scams
- Rental fraud
- Fraud recovery fraud
- Inheritance fraud
- 419 scams
For more information about the types of advance fee fraud, read our blog post which outlines the details of advance fee fraud examples.
A factor common in many confidence frauds is that the offender targets a vulnerable victim. It is, therefore, a determinant of seriousness for this type of fraud. An offender is more culpable if he or she deliberately targets a victim who is vulnerable as a result of old age, youth, or disability, and there is a more than a usual serious degree of harm where the victim is particularly vulnerable. Losses made as a result of an advance fee scam can be large, and the emotional and psychological cost can be even higher.
Our fraud lawyers are recognised experts in advance fee fraud cases. Get in touch to find out how we can help with your case.

Barristers
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KCs
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Joint Head of Chambers
Sam Green KC
Call: 1998
Silk: 2015
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Associate Tenant
Nigel Sangster KC
Call: 1976
Silk: 1998
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Richard Barraclough KC
Call: 1980
Silk: 2003
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Simon Myerson KC
Call: 1986
Silk: 2003
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Bryan Cox KC
Call: 1979
Silk: 2005
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Associate Tenant
Jane Bewsey KC
Call: 1986
Silk: 2010
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Simon Bickler KC
Call: 1988
Silk: 2011
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Associate Tenant
John Harrison KC
Call: 1994
Silk: 2016
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Jonathan Sandiford KC
Call: 1992
Silk: 2020
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Associate Tenant
Cameron Brown KC
Call: 1998
Silk: 2020
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Nicholas Worsley KC
Call: 1998
Silk: 2023
There are no KCs suiting filter condition
Members
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Joint Head of Chambers
Denise Breen-Lawton
Call: 2000
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Jeremy Barnett
Call: 1980
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Philip Standfast
Call: 1980
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Nikki Saxton
Call: 1992
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Robert Smith
Call: 1995
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Associate Tenant
David Hughes
Call: 1997
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Derek Duffy
Call: 1997
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Alasdair Campbell
Call: 1999
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Andrew Stranex
Call: 2000
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Jane Brady
Call: 2001
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James Bourne-Arton
Call: 2001
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Danielle Graham
Call: 2003
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Hal Watson
Call: 2003
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James Lake
Call: 2005
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Andrew Nixon
Call: 2006
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Helen Chapman
Call: 2006
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Voldi Welch
Call: 2008
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Associate Tenant
Hannah Hinton
Call: 2008
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Angus MacDonald
Call: 2009
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Sophie Mitchell
Call: 2010
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Hannah Lynch
Call: 2011
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Stephen Flint
Call: 2012
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George Hazel-Owram
Call: 2012
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Kristina Goodwin
Call: 2013
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Stephen Elphick
Call: 2014
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Charlie Greenwood
Call: 2015
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Frances Pencheon
Call: 2015
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Jessica Heggie
Call: 2017
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Harry Crowson
Call: 2018
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Temitayo Dasaolu
Call: 2018
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Ayman Khokhar
Call: 2018
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Emma Handley
Call: 2019
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Matthew Moore-Taylor
Call: 2020
There are no Members suiting filter condition