Various government agencies and high ranking government officials have been the target of previous spam attacks. In their attempts to lure victims, criminals continue to explore new avenues to obtain their goal.
A new version of the spam e-mail uses the names of FBI officials along with the names of specific units within the FBI. The e-mail alerts the recipient that two “Trunk Boxes” containing a large sum of money were intercepted at an international airport. The funds are allegedly from the Office of the Ministry of Finance, Federal Government of Nigeria.
The boxes contain documents bearing the recipient’s name as the owner of the funds. The fraudsters advise an additional document called the “Diplomatic Immunity Seal of Delivery” is needed to protect the recipient from violating the Patriot Act. The recipient is required to contact the fraudsters, via email, for instructions to obtain the document. The fraudsters further inform the recipient of the consequences if they fail to comply and are told not to contact any bank in Africa, or any other institution.
Do not respond. These e-mails are a hoax.
Neither government agencies nor government officials send unsolicited e-mail to consumers. United States government agencies use the legal process to contact individuals.
Consumers should not respond to any unsolicited e-mails or click on an embedded link associated with such e-mails, as they may contain viruses or malware.
If you have been a victim of Internet crime, please file a complaint at www.IC3.gov.
For previous IC3 Alerts concerning e-mail scams targeting the FBI and other government agencies visit http://www.ic3.gov/media/2009/091027.aspx.
Prepared by the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
