[StBernard] Alert: Scammers Sending Fake FBI E-mails Seeking Personal Information

[Westley Annis]

AN INCREASE IN INTERNET SCHEMES CLAIMING TO BE FROM THE FBI

01/04/08-We 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 e-mails may also claim to come from our domestic or overseas
offices. 

The types of schemes utilizing the names of FBI agents, officials, or the
Director's name are typically lottery endorsements and inheritance
notifications. However, other fraudulent schemes include 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 emails soliciting 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. 

If you have experienced this situation please notify the IC3 by filing a
complaint at [ www.ic3.gov] http://www.ic3.gov/. 


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

NEW TWIST CONCERNING THREAT AND EXTORTION E-MAILS 
01/09/07-There is a new twist to the IC3 alert posted on December 7, 2006
regarding e-mails claiming that the sender has been paid to kill the
recipient and will cancel the contract on the recipient's life if that
person pays a large sum of money. Now e-mails are surfacing that claim to be
from the FBI in London. These e-mails note the following information: 

An individual was recently arrested for the murders of several United States
and United Kingdom citizens in relation to this matter. 
The recipient's information was found on the subject identifying the
recipient as the next victim. 
The recipient is requested to contact the FBI in London to assist with the
investigation. 
It is not uncommon for an Internet fraud scheme to have the same overall
intent but be transmitted containing variations in the e-mail content, e.g.,
different names, e-mail addresses, and/or agencies reportedly involved. See
our related top story on the hitman scam. 

Please note, providing any personal information in response to an
unsolicited e-mail can compromise your identity and open you to identity
theft. 

If you have experienced this situation please notify the IC3 by filing a
complaint at www.ic3.gov. 

Due to the threat of violence inherent in these extortion e-mails, if you
receive an e-mail that contains personally identifiable information that
might differentiate your e-mail from the general e-mail spam campaign, we
encourage you to contact the police.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

E-MAILS CONTAINING THREATS AND EXTORTION
12/07/06-We have recently received information concerning spam e-mails
threatening to assassinate the recipient unless the individual pays several
thousand dollars to the sender of the e-mail. 

The subject claims to have been following the victim for some time and was
supposedly hired to kill the victim by a friend of the victim. The subject
threatens to carry out the assassination if the victim goes to the police
and requests the victim to respond quickly and provide their telephone
number. 

Warning! Providing any personal information can compromise your identify and
open you to identity theft. 

If you have experienced this situation, please notify your local, state, or
federal law enforcement agency immediately. Also, please notify the IC3 by
filing a complaint at www.ic3.gov.