Cyber Criminals
E-mail to Perpetrate Scam
Cyber
criminals posing as Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) employees are
defrauding the public.
The IC3 has received complaints from victims who were
receiving e-mails purported to be from the IC3. This advisory informs readers
how the scheme works, offers measures to help mitigate the threat, and advises
how to report incidents to law enforcement.
Victims
report that the unsolicited e-mail sender is a representative of the IC3. The
e-mails state that a criminal report was filed on the victim’s name and social
security number and legal papers are pending. Scammers impersonate an IC3
employee to increase credibility and use threats of legal action to create a
sense of urgency. Victims are informed they have one to two days from the date
of the complaint to contact the scammers. Failure to respond to the e-mail will
result in an arrest warrant issued to the victim.
Some
victims stated they were provided further details regarding the ‘criminal
charges’ to include violations of federal banking regulations, collateral check
fraud, and theft deception. Other victims claimed that their address was
correct but their social security number was incorrect. Victims that requested
additional information from the scammer were instructed to obtain prepaid money
cards to avoid legal action. Victims have reported this scam in multiple
states.
If you receive this
type of e-mail:
Resist
the pressure to act quickly.
Never
wire money based on a telephone request or in an e-mail, especially to an
overseas location.
The IC3 never charges the public for filing a complaint and
will never threaten to have them arrested if they do not
respond to an e-mail.
Individuals
who have fallen victim to this type of scam are encouraged to file a complaint with the IC3 at http://www.ic3.gov.