WE NEED A EUROPEAN NON RESIDENCE CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE NUMBER IN ORDER
TO  OBTAIN FUNDS FROM THE WEST ATLANTIC BANK IN ABIDJAN COTE
d'lvoire(Ivory Coast) I HAVE DONE MUCH RESEARCH TO TRY AND FIND OUT
HOW TO OBTAIN THIS CERTIFICATE NUMBER AND TO FIND OUT IF THIS IS A
SCAM. THE EMBASSY IS CLOSED AND I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND OUT
ANYTHING.  I NEED TO KNOW WHAT THIS CERTIFICATE NUMBER IS  AND HOW TO
OBTAIN IT.

---

Request for Question Clarification by answerfinder-ga on 10 Jul 2004 09:01 PDT

Dear bb555-ga,
The information you have given in the question is enough to start some
warning bells ringing. However, to enable me to answer your question
fully I would appreciate some more information.  Was the approach to
you by way of an email? Does it involve lottery winnings or funds
belonging to a deceased person? Have you any addresses or contact
details for the people you are in contact with?
My advice is not to send any money until I can provide you with a full answer.

answerfinder-ga

---

Clarification of Question by bb555-ga on 10 Jul 2004 11:05 PDT

YES THIS WAS AN EMAIL I RECEIVED SAYING I HAD WON A CYBER LOTTERY AND
MY EMAIL ADDRESS HAD BEEN CHOSEN FROM 30,000 ADDRESS AND BECAUSE I WAS
IN CATAGORY B I HAD WON 1,000,000 EUROS AND ALL I HAD TO DO WAS CALL
THE WEST ATLANTIC BANK AND CLAIM MY PRIZE.  I EMAIL THIS MAN BACK AND
TOLD HIM THAT I WOULD NOT GIVE OUT ANY BANK ACCOUNT NUMBERS NOR WOULD
WE SEND ANY MONEY.  WE HAVE TALKED TO THE DIRECTOR OF THE BANK AND I
HAVE CONTINUED TO EMAIL DOMNIC (THE MAN WHO SENT THE FIRST EMAIL) AND
WE HAVE CONTINUED TO TELL THEM THERE WOULD BE NO MONEY SENT NOR WOULD
WE GIVE THEM A BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER.  THE DIRECTOR OF THE BANK (PICHOP
JEAN) ADVISED US TO OPEN A DIFFERENT ACCOUNT FOR THIS MONEY TO BE SENT
TO.  WE DISCUSSED WITH HIM ABOUT JUST WIRING THE MONEY THROUGH WESTERN
UNION WHERE UPON HE SAID HE NEEDED 200 EUROS OR MAYBE DOLLARS FOR US
TO OBTAIN A EUROPEAN NONE RESIDENCE CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE NUMBER
BECAUSE WE WERE NOT EUROPEAN CITIZENS.  AGAIN WE TOLD HIM WE WOULD NOT
SEND ANY MONEY AND I ONCE AGAIN EMAILED DOMNIC BACK AND TOLD HIM THAT
THEY HAD SAID THEY DIDN'T WANT ANY MONEY UP FRONT AND I LET HIM KNOW I
FELT THIS WAS A SCAM AND THAT I HAD ASKED FOR THE ADDRESS OF THE BANK
AND IF IT WAS NOT A SCAM I NEEDED SOME KIND OF CONFIRMATION OR
DOCUMENTATION THAT THIS WAS A REAL DEAL.  I HAVE NEVER WON ANYTHING
AND DON'T REALLY BELIEVE THIS IS A REAL DEAL EITHER BUT SINCE I HAVE
SPENT THIS MUCH TIME CONVERSING WITH THESE PEOPLE I WANT TO SEE IT
THROUGH.  IF IN THE END IT IS A SCAM THEN I WILL REPORT IT TO THE
PROPER AUTHORITIES ALTHOUGH I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THERE'S NOT MUCH
ANYONE CAN DO.  THE TELEPHONE NUMBERS I HAVE FOR THE BANK ARE
225-07382752 EXT 121 AND THE OTHER NUMBER IS 22507956190.  THE ADDRESS
I HAVE FOR THE WEST ATLANTIC BANK IS SIEGE/AGINCE IMM. ALLIANCE AV.
TERRASSON de FOUERSS 01 BP.4107 ABIDJAN 01-COTE d'IVOIRE  THEY HAVE
SENT US A FORM TO FILL OUT VIA EMAIL BUT NEED THAT CERTIFICATE NUMBER
WHICH I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF BUT THEN THERE'S MANY THINGS I'VE NEVER
HEARD OF BEFORE.  I KNOW THAT SOME FOLKS HAVE WON ALOT OF MONEY BUT I
SOMEHOW DON'T BELIEVE I AM ONE OF THOSE FOLKS BUT AGAIN SINCE I'VE
GONE THIS FAR, I WANT TO KNOW FOR SURE.  EVERYONE THAT I HAVE TALKED
TO SAYS THE SAME THING YOU ARE SAYING BUT I GUESS I AM HARD HEADED AND
NEED TO KNOW FOR SURE.  I BELIEVE IN GOD'S WAY NOT MAN'S SO IF THIS IS
SOMETHING I AM TO HAVE THEN THE DETAILS WILL BE WORKED OUT.  THANKS
FOR YOUR HELP

Dear bb555-ga,

I am so pleased you have clarified the information. I strongly advise
you: DO NOT have any further communication with these people. It is a
scam. There is no lottery. There is no money.

I speak from experience. I am a former police officer who served 15
years with the Fraud Squad, New Scotland Yard, dealing with this type
of crime.

These people are trying to extract money from you. You have already
been asked for 200 Euros for a certificate which does not exist. Later
on, they will ask you for more money for so-called lawyers? fees,
security clearance documents, customs fees, deposit to open a bank
account, and they will ask you to travel to another country to collect
the money. There, they will extract more money from you. The list is
endless. It only stops when you refuse to pay anymore. I warn you
however, that they are very persuasive, and I recommend that you have
no further communication with them. I have known victims to lose
thousand of dollars in this fraud ? even though they suspected it was
a fraud.

The lottery scam is variation of a fraud known as '419 fraud' which
originates in West Africa. These law enforcement sites will provide
background information on this fraud.
http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/419.htm
http://www.secretservice.gov/alert419.shtml


These sites also show how the fraud works.
http://www.lotteryinsider.com/scams/2003.htm
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/11/lottery_scams/
http://www.stopecg.org/lottery.htm
http://www.fraudwatchinternational.com/internetfraud/lottery/intl_lotto.htm

You will note on the last site that a similar lottery email sent out
to thousands of people also asks for a "Non Residence" "Clearance
Certificate "

As for the information you have supplied - they ask for money through
Western Union as this cannot be traced once collected.

A search on Google shows no result for West Atlantic Bank. If this was
a genuine bank there would be many references.

The West African Bankers' Association makes no mention of West
Atlantic Bank being based in the Ivory Coast.
http://www.wabao.org/waba/bank_ivorycoast.html

Once, again ? it is a fraud, a scam.

I hope this answers your question. If it does not, or the answer is
unclear, then please ask for clarification of this research before
rating the answer. I shall respond to the clarification request as
soon as I receive it.
Thank you
answerfinder

THANK YOU FOR TAKING SUCH LENGTHS TO HELP US FIGURE THIS OUT AND TO
DEFINETLY KNOW WHAT TO DO.  I HOPE THIS WILL HELP SOMEONE ELSE FROM
BECOMING A VICTIM BEFORE THEY BECOME ONE SUCH AS IN OUR CASE.  YOU DID
A GREAT JOB!

Dear bb555-ga,
Thank you for your generous tip. I am so pleased that I have prevented
you from suffering further losses.
Best wishes for the future.
answerfinder-ga

you are most welcome answerfinder-ga.  I just wish it could have been
more.  You saved us from possibly making the biggest mistake of our
lives and are so glad that we did not give these people any money or
information.
God bless you.

I got the same e-mail today, same info, call the Bank..I checked
Google..no Bank I found ...They scam you badly....I will go and tell
them off.....