Don't Be Fooled By "FBI" Email
MIAMI (CBS4) - The late J. Edgar Hoover must be steaming.
An email scam that invokes the good name of the FBI is making the rounds.
The emails, that come with subject lines like "From: Federal Bureau of Investigation," and "From: FBI Office," tell recipients that they have money waiting for them at the "Compensation Award House," or have been identified as victims of fraud and are owed "compensation."
The messages direct recipients to respond to various phone numbers or email addresses in order to claim their money. They promise would-be victims millions of dollars, but first require that processing or handling fees of $150 or $250 be paid in advance.
"You are getting scammed if you respond to it," said real FBI Agent Michael Leverock, a spokesperson for the agency's Miami office. Leverock said the FBI would "absolutely never" send anyone an email soliciting money or claiming to have money for them.
Some of the emails try to get potential victims on the hook by threatening them with "arrest" or "detention" if they do not immediately respond.
The FBI's Leverock, suppressing a chuckle, said if the agency wants to speak with someone, "We will come visit you." Leverock told CBS4's Gary Nelson that the FBI would never email someone saying "send us money or we will come pick you up - that is not going to happen."
As ludicrous as the "FBI" email scam seems, Leverock said people fall for it and similar cons that often originate overseas. Nigeria is notorious for its email scammers. Typically, the con artists exchange emails or phone calls with their "marks" that end with the victim wiring cash or sending a money order to a blind address.
Leverock says the FBI's internet crimes unit receives about a thousand complaints of suspected email fraud every day.
Leverock said if you receive an email from anyone offering you "something that sounds too good to be true, it is." He warned internet users not to open attachments on emails that appear suspicious, because they can contain computer viruses.
Suspected internet fraud can be reported to the FBI's internet crimes unit at www.IC3.gov.
