Reporting potential Internet crimes, scams, frauds,and identity theft

Identity theft and other crimes revolving around online activities are growing. This article is based on actual e-mails distributed over the last few months with content that sounded scary, threatening, demanding, intimidating ,and worthy of reporting to authorities.

I spoke to an agent of the Las Vegas Field Office of the FBI about this issue. The FBI suggested that the public needs to know how to report these problems to authorities and recommended that informing others about the e-mail scams could keep others from becoming victims of these crimes. 

This purpose of this article is for anyone who receives disturbing, demanding, or threatening e-mails to know that there is a place they can be reported . Unfortunately, reporting doesn't mean the crimes will stop, it means we're doing something and taking action . Hopefully we'll be helping ourselves and others.

The site for reporting these potential crimes, scams, and online threatening e-mails is http://www.IC3.gov . This site is a partnership between the FBI, the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). and the Bureau of Justice Assistance. According to the FBI, the more people we can tell about how to identify potentially bad situations and how to avoid being scammed or conned, the better off we will be.  One of my personal mottos is, "Ignorance is not bliss, it's expensive."  

The Internet Crime Complaint Center handles auction fraud, counterfeit and cashier check problems, credit card fraud, debt elimination company complaints, DHL/UPS shipping crimes, employment and business opportunity crimes, escrow services fraud, identity theft, Internet extortion, investment fraud, lotteries, Nigerian Letter or "419" scams, phishing or spoofing, Ponzi and pyramid schemes, reshipping, spam mail, and third party receiver of funds complaints. 

The e-mails that prompted my call had scare tactics and portrayed being sent by government officials from Nigeria. The Internet Crime Complaint Center offers tips in all of the categories of  frauds, crimes, and scams they handle as listed above

Six tips from the Internet Crime Complaint Center as they relate to the Nigerian Letters or "419" classified scams include: 1. Be wary of individuals representing themselves as foreign officials, 2. Do not reply to e-mails asking for personal banking information,3. Do not believe the promise of large sums of money for your cooperation, 4. Guard all your personal account information, 5. If the opportunity appears "too good to be true"-it probably is not good. Stay away from the opportunity, and 6. Be cautious when additional funds are requested to further the transaction.

Below are details of a suspicous e-mail and it followed the pattern the Crime Complaint Center indicated as common. The letter stated and I quote,"  Important. Our agents will visit you and arrest you if you fail to comply fully with the below instructions," 

The e-mails indicated that they were sent by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Anti-Terrorist and Monetary Crime Division in Washington, D.C.( the tips from the Crime Complaint Center said,"be wary of individuals representing themselves as goverment officials)  

Although an educated consumer receiving a suspicious e-mail might read the threatening words and feel upset, if not angered, the authorities stated that the best action is not to respond to the e-mails, do not get involved,  and to notify authorities.Do not download any attachments to these type of e-mails because they may contain malware that can steal your personal information or put one or more viruses into your computer.

The e-mail that prompted my call to the FBI Las Vegas Field Office demanded  payment of $200 and that the payment be credit guaranteed with an "irrevocable credit guarantee."  According to the http://www.IC3.gov site, "be wary when someone asks for money to proceed ."An unsuspecting victim that places an irrevocable credit guarantee on a transaction will not be able to get their money back. 

One very common current scam tactic revolves around the scammers trying to get someone to believe that they are entitled to an inheritance as a "beneficiary." The potential scam advises you that someone you know has  passed away and left behind huge sums of money . The criminals hope you will comply with their instructions to receive the money. The e-mails lead up to you making arrangements to give them money.  

To start off 2011, a new e-mail arrived with a new twist: it asks "if I've authorized someone else to claim the money of which I am the supposed beneficiary. It claims that another woman is trying to make officials in Nigeria believe that I am dead and that she should get my money." The e-mail demanded action within two working days.

The worst part of these e-mails is that there are innocent  people who respond to them, panic, send money and personal information  to strangers making threats.I hope this article will help potential victims provide details to authorities that will stop criminals from harming others financially and emotionally.