ADVANCE FEE FRAUDULENT SCAMS

If your complaint or question concerns fraudulent correspondence you may have received via the U.S. mail, telephone, or e-mail which requests payment of an advance fee in order to receive additional monies, do not send any money and do not respond or provide any financial or personally identifiable information.  This type of activity is commonly referred to as advance fee fraud.  It is suggested that you contact your local law enforcement agency, as well as your local office of the United States Secret Service who has jurisdiction in this matter.  In addition, if you have already provided personal banking information to the perpetrators of the fraudulent activity, you should contact your banking institution for assistance in protecting yourself from identity theft.

For more information, you may visit the official website of the U.S. Secret Service at: http://www.secretservice.gov.

Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has set up a national resource website which provides detailed information to help you deter, detect, and defend against identity theft, as well as learn what to do if your identity is stolen. Vsit the FTC identity theft website.