Justice Department
Alerts Public About Fraudulent Spam E-mail-Full article at :
http://www.ic3.gov/media/2007/070627.aspx There have been several complaints of e-mails from government agencies recently which, if believed, causes a lot of fear and frustration for the recipients. Their purpose is always to get
the recipient to part with personal information or send them to sites where such information can be collected by fill-in forms and even covert probes of the user’s computers and/or feeding malware to the unsuspecting recipient. The collection of information may range from simple requests to provide the information to coercion and threats about penalties for not responding truthfully to the senders.
Such e-mail are ALWAYS FRAUDULENT SPAM AND HOAXES, SOME QUITE CRUEL IN NATURE! NEVER RESPOND TO THEM OR CLICK ANY LINKS IN THESE SPAMS! Ignore them, delete them, and forget about them. The department of Justice did not, does not, and will not, send such e-mails!
These
hoaxes have so far in the past included the FBI, FTC and IRS in addition to the Department of Justice. Further governmental agencies are likely to be added to the list.
Since these are all hoaxes of one sort or another, it is impossible to judge what they may actually be. They could be anything from an attempt to get your street address to you social security number and everything in between, plus could add destructive malware to your computer or even turn
your computer into a Zombie, meaning the perpetrator turns it into a spam sending robot for its own use. Such computer infestations can be very difficult to get rid of. They may even include enticing attachments encouraging you to open them ASAP, and which turn out to be yet another form of unwittingly installed malware on your computer.
Be especially wary of unsolicited warning
messages that purport to come from U.S. governmental agencies directing them to click on file attachments or to provide sensitive personal information. If you should receive any of these e-mail delete them immediately, and then empty your Recycle Bin so they can never get backed up or otherwise become active on your computer. Rule #1 of the spamming community is: 1. Spammers Lie. There is
nothing, nada, zip in those e-mails that can be trusted, reacted to, or clicked on. The same is true, incidentally, of banking and savings and loan institutions. If you have received this, or a similar hoax, please file a complaint at www.ic3.gov. Within the complaint, please list "DOJ Spoof Email" in the "Business Name" field of the complaint, where complainants are directed to place the name of the business which has victimized them, as this will allow the IC3 to easily retrieve and process these complaints. Consumers can learn more about protecting themselves from malicious spyware and bogus e-mails at OnGuardOnline.gov, a Web site created by the Department of Justice in partnership with other federal agencies and the technology industry to help consumers stay safe online. The site features modules on spyware and phishing, at http://onguardonline.gov/spyware.html and http://onguardonline.gov/phishing.html. Consumers can also obtain information on Internet safety at | 
