User Awareness Program

Using Instant Messaging and Chat Rooms Safely

Although instant messaging services and chat rooms offer a convenient way to communicate with other people, there are dangers associated with tools that allow real-time communication. What are the differences between some of the tools used for real-time communication Instan...

Potential Economic Stimulus Fraud

In today’s world, the most effective way for the FBI to serve the American people is to be intelligence-led and threat-driven. That means not only investigating violations of federal law after the fact, but also seeing potential threats and crimes on the horizon and being po...

Advance Fee Scheme

An advance fee scheme occurs when the victim pays money to someone in anticipation of receiving something of greater value, such as a loan, contract, investment, or gift, and then receives little or nothing in return. The variety of advance fee schemes is limited only by the...

BUSINESSES BEWARE: Mass Marketing Scams

Almost everyone has heard horror stories about individuals who have been taken in by mass marketing fraud schemes—from phony sweepstakes to lottery scams. But here’s something you may not know: the very same fraudsters who target individual consumers also target businesses. ...

Reverse Mortgage Scams

The FBI and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG) urge consumers, especially senior citizens, to be vigilant when seeking reverse mortgage products. Reverse mortgages, also known as Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM),...

Social Security Numbers Can Be Guessed

A story posted by The Washington Post has indicated that Social Security Numbers can be guessed. Researchers have found that it is possible to guess many — if not all — of the nine digits in an individual’s Social Security number using publicly available in...

Spam, Phishing, and Malicious Code Related to Recent Celebrity Deaths

There have been public reports of an increased number of spam campaigns, phishing attacks, and malicious code targeting the recent deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. These email messages may attempt to gain user information through phishing attacks or by recording...

Beware of Various Frauds Tied to the Economic Slowdown

In addition to mortgage rescue scams (see Foreclosure Rescue and Loan Modification Scammers), consumers should beware of a variety of other frauds tied to current economic difficulties. Scams tied to the Obama Administration’s economic stimulus package. The Federal Tr...

Twitter Scareware Attack

A scareware scam is spreading through Twitter. A message reading “Best Video” contains a link that, if clicked, leads users to a site that attempts to download phony security software known as scareware onto their computers. Once a machine is infected, the malw...

Scammers Still Prey on Stressed Homeowners

Many homeowners having difficulty making their monthly mortgage payments are being targeted by criminals who charge large upfront fees and falsely “guarantee” to rescue a home from foreclosure. In some of the worst cases, homeowners have become victims of identit...