CITY of York Trading Standards has received a resurgence in the number of complaints about email scams, one of which, the Advance Fee Fraud, has been in operation for some time. The other one, Phishing, is a more recent occurrence.

The fact that the Advance Fee Fraud has been operating for a considerable time suggests that it continues to be successful for its operators. Although this type of scam frequently originates from parts of Africa, it can have other sources. The scam is often based on the premise that some major event or misfortune such as the overthrow of a government has resulted in large sums of money being held in a country by a person or persons who are seeking help in transferring the money to another country. A proportion of the money is offered for help in transferring the money. Typically the approach will appear to come from a senior government official or a business person and be marked Strictly Confidential or Urgent. The e-mail will go on to explain why it is not possible for the sender to operate a foreign bank account. All that is needed are details of you or your company's bank account. Don't do it. There is evidence from around the world that individuals and professional people have lost significant amounts of cash, never hearing from their foreign business "partner" again.

Phishing involves the mass distribution of fraudulent email messages with return addresses, links and branding which appear to come from banks, insurance agencies, retailers or credit card companies. These fraudulent messages are designed to fool the recipients into divulging personal authentication data such as usernames and passwords, credit card numbers, etc. Because these emails look official, it is estimated that between five and 20 per cent of recipients respond to them, resulting in financial losses, identity theft and other fraudulent activity.

City of York Trading Standards advises residents to be on their guard and never to reveal account or password information in response to an unsolicited e-mail. Crooks out to steal cash are just a click of the mouse away!

New controls on unsolicited commercial e-mails (UCE) came into force in December 2003. The regulations require that UCE can only be sent to an individual with the prior consent of the addressee. The Information Commissioner's office deals with complaints but, of course, would find it difficult to exercise jurisdiction where the e-mail originates abroad. So our advice is, don't do it, don't respond, and if in doubt, contact us.

For further information about unsolicited emails, or any other consumer matter, contact City of York Trading Standards on 01904 551562 for advice, or to make an appointment. We are situated at 9, St Leonard's Place, York. You can also visit our website at www.york.gov.uk/business/tradingstandards

Updated: 09:39 Thursday, April 15, 2004