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Spammers Circulating E-mails in Name of FBI Deputy Director, IC3

A new spam e-mail purporting to have come from FBI Deputy Director John S. Pistole is currently flooding into the inboxes of netizens in the US, as per the news published by Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) on October 16, 2008.

IC3 further stated that using the name and status of an FBI official is a traditional form of spamming as this provides the spam e-mail a sense of authenticity and it becomes comparatively easier to dupe the recipients.

According to security analysts, spam is defined as unwanted mails inundating the internet with several copies of the same message so as to force that message on the ignorant people who would otherwise avoid receiving it.

Further, like several other e-mail scams, this scam too addresses the recipient as the beneficiary of a big amount of money and says that the money can be accessed only on payment of some initial charges and on providing personal banking information.

IC3, which is still receiving and developing intelligence reports related to such fake schemes, stated that it was not the first time that the name of a reputed FBI official has been used in such spam scam to fraud people. The spam mail is made 'authentic' by using the pictures of FBI officials, letter head, seal and/or banners.

Further, to make Internet users more aware and to inform them on the types of methodologies that can be adopted by the spammers, IC3 said that these fraudulent offers may assert to have come from national or international FBI offices and seems to be legitimate.

According to the intelligence notice of IC3, traditionally, spam e-mails use the names of FBI officials to endorse lottery and legacy notifications but they may also include a variety of scams such as malware, threats and online auction scams.

Finally, IC3 advised Internet users to be more alert and vigilant towards any sort of unwanted e-mails. Recipients of such e-mails should avoid opening them or clicking on any link given in it. IC3 also recommended that no personal data should be revealed as it may lead to the identity theft.

Related article: Spammers Continue their Campaigns Successfully

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