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FBI issues alert vs e-mail, mail scams
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Posted on Jul 08 2008
The Saipan office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation has received reports from dozens of citizens regarding suspicious mail and e-mail solicitations. Stopping these solicitations is difficult from a law enforcement perspective due to the fact that the perpetrators are usually operating in foreign countries outside the jurisdiction of U.S. law enforcement agencies. The best way to combat this epidemic is to educate the public on how to recognize these fraudulent solicitations and encourage people to avoid them. Toward that end, the FBI wishes to advise citizens of the following information:
Tips to avoid international mass marketing fraud
-If you receive a letter, e-mail or telephone solicitation from another country asking you to spend personal banking information, do not reply in any manner.
-If you know someone who is corresponding in one of these schemes, encourage that person to contact the FBI.
-Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as Nigerian, other foreign government officials, or claming to be the FBI, U.S. Customs or the Internal Revenue Service asking for your help in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts, asking for your bank account information, or asking for advance fees so that you can collect any funds or alleged winnings.
-Do not believe the promise of large sums of money for your cooperation.
-Guard your account information carefully.
Individuals who have lost a significant amount of money due to one of these schemes are encouraged to report this criminal activity to the FBI at 322-6934. Additionally, the information can be reported to Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) via the FBI homepage at http://www.fbi.gov. [B][I](PR)[/I][/B]
