Phishing (as in “fishing for information” and “hooking” victims) is a scam where Internet fraudsters send e-mail messages to trick unsuspecting victims into revealing personal and financial information that can be used to steal the victims’ identity. Current scams include phony e-mails which claim to come from the IRS and which lure the victims into the scam by telling them that they are due a tax refund.
You Can Help Shut Down Phishing Schemes (the irs one)
The good news is that you can help shut down these schemes and prevent others from being victimized. If you receive a suspicious e-mail that claims to come from the IRS, you can relay that e-mail to a new IRS mailbox, phishing@irs.gov. Follow instructions in the link below for sending the bogus e-mail to ensure that it retains critical elements found in the original e-mail. The IRS can use the information, URLs and links in the suspicious e-mails you send to trace the hosting Web site and alert authorities to help shut down the fraudulent sites. Unfortunately, due to the expected volume, the IRS will not be able to acknowledge receipt or respond to you.
phishing@irs.gov
• Instructions for submitting phishing e-mails to IRS
• IR-2006-49, IRS Establishes e-Mail Box for Taxpayers to Report Phony e-Mails
for more information - http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=155682,00.html
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You should report scams to:
*** Your local police station. They may also advice you what to do and where to report further.
*** FBI. They have a special Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
http://www.ic3.gov/
*** Nigerian scams you can also report to a special organization created in Nigeria to fight 419 and other financial cybercrime, EFCC: The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
http://www.efccnigeria.org
*** Russian scams you can (and should!) report to the following 2 places:
1) FSB, aka FSS (Federal Security Service). This organization is similar to FBI in Russia.
http://www.fsb.ru/contact/contact.html
Please note, this website is in Russian. You can use online translator, for example http://freetranslation.paralink.com/ to translate the page (recommended). The e-mail you can use is fsb@fsb.ru.
2) Another place to report Russian scammers is MVD of Russia, aka MOI (Ministry of the Interior of Russia). This is like the headquarters of Russian Police:
http://eng.mvdrf.ru/
Send your message through "Public Reception" center. They have a special so-called department "K" dedicated to fight cybercrime.
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Dating Schemes and Marriage Fraud:
The most frequent reports of scams the Embassy and the Department of State receive relate to on-line dating and marriage services. Correspondents who quickly move to professions of romantic interest or discussion of intimate matters could very well be scammers. The anonymity of the Internet means that the U.S. citizen cannot be sure of the real name, age, marital status, nationality, or even gender of the correspondent. In many cases, the correspondent turns out to be a fictitious persona created only to lure the U.S. citizen into sending money.
Typically, once a connection is made, the correspondent asks the U.S. citizen to send money or credit card information for living expenses, travel expenses, or "visa costs." Sometimes, the correspondent notifies the American citizen that a close family member is ill and begins to request monetary assistance. In other instances, the scammer cites the need to pay for travel expenses and “necessary travel documents” or expresses the need for funds to settle a property or other legal dispute in order to leave Ukraine.
A request for funds almost always marks a fraudulent correspondent. American citizens who fall prey to these scams have reported suffering emotional damage as well as losing thousands of dollars. U.S. citizens are cautioned against sending any money to persons they have not actually met. If they do choose to send money, they can take several precautions.
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They may refer to http://uscis.gov for authoritative information about the immigration process and the true costs involved. For example, U.S. law does not require Ukrainian visitors to have a certain amount of "pocket money" in either local currency or dollars. Any request for money on this account would likely identify a scammer.
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They may arrange to prepay for a plane ticket directly with the carrier rather than wiring money for transportation to the traveler.
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If the correspondent provides an image of a purported U.S. visa as proof of intention to travel, the American citizen may contact the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv at kievfpm@state.gov to ascertain the validity of the visa.
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They should carefully check the address of the bank account to which money is to be wired. If a Ukrainian citizen asks for funds to be deposited in a bank outside of Ukraine, this is an indication of likely fraud.
Reference - http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_2503.html
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Police in the United Kingdom found organized criminal gangs from Russia, the former Soviet Union and the Balkans using the Internet to advertise women for sale to brothels in Western Europe and also to men as"internet brides."4 A study by Global Survival Network (GSN) found that most mail-order bride agencies in Russia have expanded their activities to include trafficking for prostitution.
read on here .......http://www.online-dating-rights.com/forum/index.php?topic=528.0
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Those behind the Lottery win scam - Suspects pay good money for mailing lists and they do target those lists that deal with the elderly.
Lotto frauds are becoming prevalent in the UK with promises of huge winnings arriving in the form of unsolicited e-mail or letters to UK residents. Invariably the communication will purport to come from an overseas lottery and claim that the recipient has been allocated winning numbers. The recipient will contact the organisers, whether directly through telephone, by post or e-mail and will be invited to send money in to assist in the administration for the release of the winnings.
How it works - These winnings do not exist. This is merely a scam and attempt to elicit money from unsuspecting victims. As the winnings on offer are substantial, so too can be the advance fees required to release the funds.
The real cruel part of this scam is that suspects will build up a rapport with victims through telephone contact in order to continue the flow of money.
How it works - These winnings do not exist. This is merely a scam and attempt to elicit money from unsuspecting victims. As the winnings on offer are substantial, so too can be the advance fees required to release the funds.
The real cruel part of this scam is that suspects will build up a rapport with victims through telephone contact in order to continue the flow of money.
UK Links
Reference - http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/section/lotto_fraud.htm
New this year - If you are from Britain please forward details of the scam to The National Fraud Authority (NFA)
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The Job offer scam
In the market for a new job? The Internet has made it easier than ever to find one. It’s also made it easier for criminals to find you.
Think about it: what do you do when you apply for a job? You give out all kinds of personal information: your name, address, home and work telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, sometimes even your date of birth and social security number. Just what you’d want to know if you’re an identity thief or other criminal.
And what if—heaven forbid—you do fall for one of these cons?
Do damage control immediately: first, close all bank and e-mail accounts linked to the fraud. Then, contact the three major credit bureaus to place fraud alerts on your credit files and to regularly monitor your credit reports for unusual activity. Then, help us clean up the ‘net by reporting the fraud to the job site where the scam was posted and by filing a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
For more anti-fraud advice, see our Common Frauds webpage and the LooksTooGoodToBeTrue.com website
New this year - If you are from Britain please forward details of the scam to The National Fraud Authority (NFA)
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The Job offer scam
In the market for a new job? The Internet has made it easier than ever to find one. It’s also made it easier for criminals to find you.
Think about it: what do you do when you apply for a job? You give out all kinds of personal information: your name, address, home and work telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, sometimes even your date of birth and social security number. Just what you’d want to know if you’re an identity thief or other criminal.
And what if—heaven forbid—you do fall for one of these cons?
Do damage control immediately: first, close all bank and e-mail accounts linked to the fraud. Then, contact the three major credit bureaus to place fraud alerts on your credit files and to regularly monitor your credit reports for unusual activity. Then, help us clean up the ‘net by reporting the fraud to the job site where the scam was posted and by filing a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
For more anti-fraud advice, see our Common Frauds webpage and the LooksTooGoodToBeTrue.com website
