Criminal Investigation of Advance Fee Fraud

Abstract

Advance fee fraud, or in Slovenia more known as Nigerian scams, are ranked among the world's most profitable frauds. Because of their frequency and visibility these types of fraud received academic and scientific attention, which led to an accumulation of large amounts of literature. However, the scope of the literature that describes (or researches) the responses of repressive institutions are rather vague. Our work attempts to fill this gap. The primary (qualitative) research method utilized was a review of the literature while secondary qualitative research method was the analysis of a pilot study in which four Slovenian criminal investigators were interviewed. They were asked about the issues and their subjective perception about the frequency of occurrence of these acts. Literature and interviewed investigators indicate the biggest problem is the use of false or falsified identities, which are used in all stages of the frauds. Cyber characteristics of these types of fraud amplify these problems even more. Contrary to worldwide literature, the interviewed investigators perceive a lower incidence of offenses, as estimated worldwide. However as warned, this is a subjective perception.