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Contact: Jon Sorensen (518) 473-9472 For Immediate Release: June 7, 2007


Air Crash in 1999 Continues to Fuel Scams Today

Family member joins CPB in warning that scam artists are using crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 in 'Nigerian' advance-payment scams

The New York State Consumer Protection Board (CPB) today issued a warning that scam artists continue to use the 1999 crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 to perpetrate so-called "Nigerian 419" scams against unknowing victims here in New York and throughout the United States.

The controversial air crash, in which 217 people died after a pilot deliberately crashed the jet into the Atlantic Ocean, has fed "419" or advance-fee scams for the past seven years. A new round of letters and e-mails are now being sent to an unknown number of unsuspecting New Yorkers, promising them a share of money allegedly left by one of the passengers.

"These letters and e-mails are nothing more than a sorry attempt to steal money from people who are not aware of this type of twisted scam," said CPB Chairperson and Executive Director Mindy A. Bockstein. "The perpetrators are attempting to cash in on an international tragedy."

"The EgyptAir 990 disaster is well known and sensational, and the passenger manifest was published widely--as were the life stories of many on board. These circumstances provide predators with abundant fodder for their e-mail scams. The result is that, for many years, those of us who lost family members aboard EgyptAir 990 have been forced to watch with outrage as the occasion of our grief is used to exploit other innocent Americans," said Jim Brokaw, founder of Families of EgyptAir 990, a support and advocacy group for the families and friends of the casualties of Flight 990.

Mr. Brokaw's father, who died in the air disaster, has been named in some scam e-mails and letters. In the most recent scheme based on the Flight 990 crash, people are offered a share of the multi-million dollar estate allegedly left by Mr. and Mrs. Salah Adam. The missionary couple from Toronto did not, in fact, leave a huge fortune after they and their two children died in the EgyptAir flight.

Regardless of the details, these scams are always the same: the letter or e-mail claims that there are millions of dollars being held in a bank or hidden in a foreign country and if you send money in advance, you will get a share of these millions.

Federal officials estimate that more than $700 million is lost by Americans each year to scam artists; most of whom are located overseas. The so-called "419" scam is named after Section 419 of the Nigerian Criminal Code.

"The e-mails and letters based on Flight 990 are often successful because they offer just enough real information to fool people into believing a rather unbelievable story," said Chairperson Bockstein. "If anyone sends you a letter or e-mail, offering to share millions of dollars because they cannot locate the next of kin, tear it up because it's always a scheme."