December 19, 2008

ICE cautions holiday shoppers of telemarketing fraud

CHARLOTTE- The holiday season is marked with many joyous celebrations, but it is also marked by scammers looking for their next would-be victim. Because of this, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is increasing its outreach efforts to educate consumers about the fraudsters who engage in telemarketing fraud, lottery scams, Nigerian fraud schemes and many other crimes.

Unfortunately, several North Carolinians have already been defrauded. In fact, ICE agents just last month recovered more than $9,000 for a local Greensboro victim. In a separate case, ICE agents recovered $15,000 for a Highlands victim. Among the most tragic cases, however, was that of an Asheboro victim who lost nearly $140,000 as a result of one of these schemes.

The classic is the Nigerian "4-1-9" scam, named after the section of Nigerian law that it violates. In this scam, a resident is contacted either via email or by mail and told that he/she has been contacted to assist in the transfer of a large sum of money from Nigeria or other West African countries. In this particular scheme, fraudsters link the source of the money to oil profits, hidden monies, or in the latest version, a long lost inheritance.

Victims are asked to provide bank account and credit card information for the "up front' money required to assist in the transfer of the funds.

The emails look official and legitimate and even contain the names of true Nigerian companies and officials. Do not be fooled! Fraudsters have had a long time to perfect their craft and will do anything to make their correspondence look official.

"If you fall victim to these schemes, these fraudsters can compromise your computer information or at worst empty your bank account and max out your credit cards," said Delbert Richburg, ICE assistant special agent-in-charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Charlotte. "We must remember the old adage- if it is too good to be true, it probably is."

Nigerian scams are not the only schemes use by fraudsters. Telemarketing fraud, based out of Canada, is also increasing. In these scams, a person is contacted via telephone and told that he/she has won the Canadian lottery. The person represents himself/herself to be an official of ICE or U.S. Customs and Border Protection and requests that duty/taxes be paid on the winnings prior to the lottery winnings being issued.

ICE cautions against falling for this scam. Neither ICE nor CBP contacts individuals and asks for duties in advance. If you are contacted by someone claiming to be representing ICE, please get their phone number and immediately call ICE's 24-hour tip line by dialing 1-877-DHS-2ICE.

ICE has also seen churches and church groups being targeted. A church or religious group may be contacted and told that a wealthy foreigner has decided to leave the group a considerable sum to help them continue their good works. The fraudster subsequently requests bank account or other information to help with the scam, and once provided, the scam artist has full access to the church's accounts.

If you have been a victim of a scam and have lost money, do not be embarrassed. You need to contact authorities immediately. You may not get your money back, but you may be key to the disruption of a scam that could potentially victimize many others.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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