FBI Alerts Netizens of E-mail Scam Promising Prize Money

As per news reports obtained, a phishing e-mail is making the rounds while pretending to be a message from FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation). News10now.com reported this on June 23, 2009.

Making a tall claim that the e-mail recipient has won $800,000, the unsolicited message says that the money could be claimed through a wire transfer of $500 to the message's sender, meaning that the recipient has to make an advance payment for getting the award money.

This demand, according to Jim Kolbe Special Agent of FBI, is clearly a very big hint that the e-mail is a fraud. News10now.com reported this.

Another issue that Kolbe points out is that dispatching uninvited e-mails simply isn't the way of getting things done. Thus the e-mail in question, which is unsolicited, is another hint of its falsity.

Kolbe further says that obviously the particular e-mail sender thought that mentioning the name of FBI as also using its reputation would make his scam e-mail appear credible. Moreover, the e-mail asks the recipient for her/his name, telephone number and other contact information, which is another clue.

Meanwhile, Kolbe says, if at all FBI requires any private details concerning a citizen, the agency would personally contact that person i.e. send an e-mail by specifically addressing the person in her/his name.

Still another flaw that can assist in distinguishing a phishing e-mail from a genuine one is that the former type of scam e-mail would contain grammatical and spelling mistakes. But since FBI is a prestigious organization, it wouldn't ever send e-mails with such mistakes.

Meanwhile, phishers scamming people using FBI's name isn't anything new. Therefore, the agency is urging netizens to exercise caution with e-mails that they might get as a representation from FBI.

Furthermore, the agency requests recipients of fraud e-mails to come forward and lodge complaints. Also, since the FBI's IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center) takes care of all scams involving e-mails, netizens could forward such scam e-mails to FBI at the e-mail address of IC3. Besides, the IC3 website www.ic3.gov to help citizens elaborates on different kinds of frauds that occur through e-mail.

Related article: FBI’s ICCC Annual Report Discusses Fraudulent and Non-Fraudulent Complaints

» SPAMfighter News - 7/4/2009