Internet Crime Complaint CenterNarrator: Wouldn’t it be nice if you could see where that scam e-mail came from? If you could plot a scammer’s location on a map, along with their victims? And then go after them?
The FBI Cyber Division’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, a partnership with the nonprofit National White Collar Crime Center, is doing just that. In any given month IC3’s website gets about 20,000 complaints. Agents and analysts wade through them to find patterns and trends, and then go after the scammers by sending the investigative leads to law enforcement agencies or FBI field offices.
Supervisory Special Agent Charles Pavelites, IC3: Anyone who’s been a victim of crime on the Internet can file a complaint with us. We don’t have thresholds for individual complaints. We like to get as much information as possible, and get as much information as possible out to law enforcement in hopes of spurring investigations.
Narrator: The FBI Cyber Division investigates the whole spectrum of Internet crimes, from auction fraud to international threats targeting the U.S. infrastructure.
Assistant Director Shawn Henry, FBI Cyber Division: It’s really important for people to understand how significant the threat is from the cyber attack vector to the U.S. economy and the U.S. infrastructure. There are many foreigners, organized crime groups, that are looking to target the U.S. financial infrastructure, because the business of the United States is done on the Internet.
Narrator: The Internet Crime Complaint Center’s database holds more than 1.3 million complaints. They can sift through the complaints to target specific frauds, or get an overall picture of current online
Pavelites: This would be all kinds of cyber fraud, all kinds of schemes. And, these are just dots, but they represent the information that go with them that we can use to determine trends, determine loss amounts, to determine where we should be focusing our efforts in the fight against cyber crime.
Narrator: To avoid scammers’ traps, follow your instincts: don’t click on links or open attachments in unsolicited e-mail, and guard your personal information.
Henry: So the consumer really has to ensure that they’ve got active virus scanning in place, the most recent virus signatures up to date. They’ve got to have a firewall that monitors the connections between their computer and other computers. And they really have to monitor that and be on top of what the threats are and ensure that they’re protecting themselves to the greatest extent possible.
“Oh, you better watch out…” Cyber shoppers should take heed of the familiar holiday song’s timeless refrain.
With holiday shopping in full swing and recession-wearied shoppers hunting for irresistibly good buys, it’s a safe assumption that crooks and scammers are baiting their traps with deals too good to be true.
On Cyber Monday, the first Monday after Thanksgiving and the unofficial kick-off of the online holiday shopping season, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) issued an alert reminding shoppers to be prudent with their purse strings and personal information.
- Bogus online classified ads and auctions: Criminals post products they don’t have, or, in some cases, use stolen credit card numbers to purchase merchandise they offer in auctions. In another scam, criminals may promise free delivery and provide customers with free “paid” shipping labels that are fake and won’t be honored by shippers.
Tips: Don’t provide financial information directly to sellers—use a legitimate payment service. Check each seller’s feedback ratings and proven track record.
- Phony gift cards: As with merchandise, be cautious about buying gift cards through classifieds or auctions.
Tip: Buy directly from a merchant or authorized retailer. Counterfeit cards won’t be honored.
- Phishing: These time-tested scams arrive by e-mail or text message, directing recipients to follow a link or call a number to correct or update account information. Would-be victims are sent to fraudulent or spoofed websites that look legitimate and directed to provide their account information and personal details.
Tips: Don’t respond to unsolicited e-mail. Don’t click on e-mail links or download attachments from unknown senders.
The leading retail association predicted 96 million Americans would shop online on Cyber Monday alone, and millions more during the month of December. For criminals, the numbers spell opportunity. Shoppers, meanwhile, should exercise the same caution they would in a crowded mall—eyes wide open, protecting themselves and their money. “If you’re shopping online, make sure the website is secure and it’s not a cloned website,” says Supervisory Special Agent Leslie Hoppey, acting unit chief of the Internet Crime Complaint Center. “If you want to deal with a business, go directly to their official website.”
IC3 last year received more than 275,000 complaints and reported losses of $265 million—an average of $931 per complaint. The most common complaints in 2008 were non-delivered merchandise or payment (32 percent) and auction fraud (25 percent).
Agent Hoppey offers some additional tips—have the latest version of security software installed on your computer and make sure online transactions are secure. And she offers a holiday classic as time-honored as re-gifting: “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.”
Press Release
For Immediate Release
November 30, 2009
| Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691
|
Cyber Scammers Target Holiday Shoppers
This holiday season the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is reminding the public to be on guard against cyber criminals who continue to aggressively create new ways to steal money and personal information. Scammers use many techniques to deceive potential victims including fraudulent auction sales, reshipping merchandise purchased with a stolen credit card, and sale of fraudulent or stolen gift cards through auction sites at a discounted price.
In fraudulent auction scams, Internet criminals post classified ads or auctions for products they do not have. If you receive an auction product from a merchant or retail store, rather than directly from the auction seller, the item may have been purchased with someone else’s stolen credit card number. Contact the merchant to verify the account used to pay for the item actually belongs to you.
Be wary of unfamiliar websites or individuals offering reduced or free shipping to customers. In many instances, a fraudulent seller will provide shipping labels to their customers without first paying the delivery company. Packages shipped with these labels are intercepted and identified as fraudulent.
Purchasing gift cards from auction sites or classified ads can be risky. If you need a gift card, it is safest to purchase it directly from the merchant or another authorized retail store. If the gift card merchant discovers the card you received from another source or auction was initially obtained fraudulently, the merchant will deactivate the gift card number and it will not be honored for purchases.
Here are some tips you can use to avoid becoming a victim of cyber fraud:
- Do not respond to unsolicited (spam) e-mail.
- Do not click on links contained within an unsolicited e-mail.
- Be cautious of e-mail claiming to contain pictures in attached files, as the files may contain viruses.
- Avoid filling out forms contained in e-mail messages that ask for personal information.
- Always compare the link in the e-mail to the link you are actually directed to and determine if they actually match and will lead you to a legitimate site.
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