For Immediate Release
January 15, 2008
|
Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691
|
Internet
Alert: Scammers Sending Fake FBI E-mails Seeking Personal
Information
Have
you received a suspicious e-mail from FBI Director Robert
Mueller or another FBI official? If so, it is a fake. The
FBI and the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) have increasingly
received reports of fraudulent schemes misrepresenting FBI
agents, officials, and/or FBI Director Robert S. Mueller,
III. The fraudulent e-mails give the appearance of legitimacy
due to the usage of pictures of the FBI Director, seal,
letterhead, and/or banners. The types of schemes utilizing
the names of FBI agents, officials, or the Director's name
are typically lottery endorsements and inheritance notifications.
Other
fraudulent schemes representing the FBI claim to be from
our domestic as well as overseas offices. The schemes cover
a range from threat and extortion e-mails, website monitoring
containing malicious computer program attachments (malware),
and online auction scams.
The
social engineering technique of utilizing the FBI's name
is to intimidate and convince the recipient the e-mail is
legitimate.
The
FBI does not send out e-mails soliciting personal information
from citizens.
Please
be cautious of any unsolicited e-mail referencing the FBI,
FBI Director Mueller, or any other FBI official endorsing
any type of Internet activity.
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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