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For Immediate Release
February 1, 2008
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Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691
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FBI Identifies Recurring Fraudulent
E-mail Scam
The FBI has recently developed information indicating
cyber criminals are attempting to once again send fraudulent
e-mails to unsuspecting recipients stating that someone
has filed a complaint against them or their company with
the Department of Justice or another organization such
as the Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration,
or the Better Business Bureau.
Information obtained during the FBI investigation has
been provided to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
DHS has taken steps to alert their public and private sector
partners with the release of a Critical Infrastructure
Information Notice (CIIN).
The e-mails are intended to appear as legitimate messages
from the above departments, and they address the recipients
by name, and other personal information may be contained
within the e-mail. Consistent with previous efforts, the
scam will likely be an effort to secure Personally Identifiable
Information. The nature of these types of scams is to create
a sense of urgency for the recipient to provide a response
through clicking on a hyperlink, opening an attachment,
or initiating a telephone call.
It is believed this e-mail refers to a complaint that
is in the form of an attachment, which actually contains
virus software designed to steal passwords from the recipient.
The virus is wrapped in a screensaver file wherein most
anti-virus programs are unable to detect its malicious
intent. Once downloaded, the virus is designed to monitor
username and password logins, and record the activity,
as well as other password-type information, entered on
the compromised machine.
“Through FBI investigations we frequently uncover
information about ongoing cyber attacks and scams. We share
this information through our partnership with DHS to alert
the public and the private sector,” noted James E.
Finch, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Cyber Division.
Be
wary of any e-mail received from an unknown sender. Do
not open any unsolicited e-mail and do not click on any
links provided. To receive the latest information about
cyber scams please go to the FBI
website and sign up for e-mail
alerts by clicking on one of the red envelopes. If you
have received a scam e-mail please notify the IC3 by filing
a complaint at www.ic3.gov.
For more information on e-scams, please visit the FBI's New
E-Scams and Warnings webpage.
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