CIRCULATION OF FRAUDULENT E-MAIL CLAIMING TO BE FROM U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION (CBP)

04/27/09—A spam e-mail claiming to be from former CBP Assistant Commissioner Thomas S. Winkowski is currently being circulated. This attempt to defraud is the typical e-mail scam using the name and reputation of a federal government official to create an air of authenticity.

The spam e-mail indicates the CBP has stopped a Diplomat who is carrying a consignment to be delivered to the recipient’s residence. This consignment allegedly contains millions of dollars, which is revealed to be an inheritance for the e-mail recipient.

As with many other scams, this e-mail advises the recipient they will be permitted to access this inheritance once the recipient has given the sender of the e-mail their personal information.

This e-mail is a hoax. Do not respond.

The U.S. CBP does not send unsolicited e-mails. Consumers should not respond to unsolicited e-mails or click on any embedded links, as they may contain viruses or malware.It is imperative consumers guard their personally identifiable information (PII). Examples of a person’s PII include, but are not limited to: date of birth; social security number; and bank account numbers. Providing your PII will compromise your identity.

If you have received this e-mail, or a similar e-mail, please file a complaint at www.ic3.gov.

SCHEME PURPORTEDLY ANNOUNCING A MILLIONAIRE CONTEST

04/07/09—The IC3 has been alerted to the circulation of a fraudulent e-mail, purportedly from The Oprah Winfrey Show, notifying recipients of their nomination for the “Oprah Millionaire Contest Show.” To participate, recipients are requested to mail their contact information such as full name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address; however, no mailing address was provided. Verified contestants are then required to purchase airfare and a ticket to attend The Oprah Winfrey Show, as well as complete a forthcoming contest form containing personal questions. The contestants are then promised a seat for The Oprah Winfrey Show in April and asked to provide their responses to the personal questions for a chance to win a million dollars.

Consumers always need to be alert to unsolicited e-mails. Do not open unsolicited e-mails or click on any embedded links, as they may contain viruses or malware. Providing your personally identifiable information will compromise your identity!

Individuals who receive such e-mails are encouraged to file a complaint at www.ic3.gov.

FAKE MILITARY TWIST ON VEHICLE SALE SCAMS

03/05/09—The FBI continues to receive reports of individuals victimized while attempting to purchase vehicles via the Internet. Victims find attractively priced vehicles advertised at different Internet classified ad sites. Most of the scams include some type of third-party vehicle protection program to ensure a safe transaction. After receiving convincing e-mails from the phony vehicle protection program, the victims are directed to send either the full payment, or a percentage of the payment, to the third-party agent via a wire payment service. No vehicles are delivered to the victims.

In a new twist, scammers are posing as members of the United States military. The fictitious military personnel in the scam have either been sent to a foreign country to improve military relations, or they need to sell a vehicle quickly and cheaply because of their upcoming deployment to either Iraq or Afghanistan.

Consumers are advised to do as much due diligence as possible before engaging in transactions to purchase vehicles advertised online. Consumers are also cautioned to be aware of the rules of or warnings posted by the Internet sites they visit. If someone is asking you as a consumer to break or avoid the rules of the website, it is possible that person is trying to scam you.

If you have fallen victim to this type of scam, please notify the IC3 by filing a complaint at www.ic3.gov.

WORK-AT-HOME SCAMS

02/04/09—Consumers need to be vigilant when seeking employment online. The IC3 continues to receive numerous complaints from individuals who have fallen victim to work-at-home scams.

Victims are often hired to “process payments,” “transfer funds,” or “reship products.” These job scams involve the victims receiving and cashing fraudulent checks, transferring illegally obtained funds for the criminals, or receiving stolen merchandise and shipping it to the criminals.

Other victims sign up to be a “mystery shopper,” receiving fraudulent checks with instructions to cash the checks and wire the funds to “test” a company’s services. Victims are told they will be compensated with a portion of the merchandise or funds.

Work-at-home schemes attract otherwise innocent individuals, causing them to become part of criminal schemes without realizing they are engaging in illegal behavior.

Job scams often provide criminals the opportunity to commit identity theft when victims provide their personal information, sometimes even bank account information, to their potential “employer.” The criminal/employer can then use the victim’s information to open credit cards, post on-line auctions, register websites, etc., in the victim’s name to commit additional crimes.

If you have been a victim of Internet crime, please file a complaint at www.ic3.gov.

Below are some of the most recent scams that FDIC has reported on a national basis already in 2009! Please be aware and if you see any of these, make sure you call and report them right away!!

FDIC Deposit Insurance Coverage

Source: www.fdic.gov

Recently the police department has received complaints concerning door to door solicitors. Many of these complaints are with respect to magazine salespersons and vacuum salespersons. The City of Colby has specific City ordinances dealing with Solicitors, Canvassers, and Peddlers. These can be found in the City of Colby Code book section Chapter 5.

Basically it states that persons may not go door to door selling any merchandise, soliciting sales, etc. without first obtaining a license issued by the City Clerk. Individuals applying for such a license will have a criminal history check performed on them, and the application must be approved by the Chief of Police or his designee. Persons receiving a license must carry the license, or true copy, on their person and must present the license to anyone requesting it prior to agreeing to any sales.

So if you have someone come to your door to solicit sales or services, simply ask them to show you the license issued by the City Clerk. If they can’t produce it, you can tell them that you don’t do business without seeing proof that they have a license to solicit or sell. If they do have the proper license, you are absolutely under no obligation to make any purchases or listen to their proposals. Simply tell them that you are not interested. If they attempt to pressure you, in any way, advise them to please leave your property. I would ask that you call the police and advise them of the circumstances surrounding any negative contact. Please try to get a good physical description of the individual(s), including their clothing, etc. If you see them enter a vehicle, try to be able to provide a good description of the vehicle as well.

If you have questions about either of these concerns, please contact the Police Department at 785-460-4460.