FBI Alerts Public About E-Mail Scam

The FBI is warning the public about a new Internet scam promising cash for responding to a document request. The letter, delivered by e-mail, claims to be written by FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, the top government investigator. The e-mail is followed up immediately by a second e-mail threatening that "failure to comply will result in charges being brought against the individual by the FBI." Both notes come from the same e-mail address.

In the first of the two notes, recipients are advised that they are eligible for a large sum of money that they can claim simply by replying with an FBI Identification Record and a Certificate of Ownership. To make the message seem legitimate, the note includes official information copied from the website of the FBI, describing what those records are and how they can be obtained from the Criminal Justice Information Services Division.

The second of the notes claims to be written by Donna M. Uzzell, FBI Compact Council Chairman. This note says that a fee must be sent to "FBI Nigeria" in order to have the certificate issued. This note threatens the recipient, saying that the FBI has investigative programs that can track down everyone who fails to provide the requested documentation. It states that failure to comply will result in charges being brought against you by the FBI.

The FBI’s website posted an alert saying that the e-mail is a hoax, and warning the public not to respond to it. The statement says that the scam "appears to be a typical Nigerian scam; however, the attempt to defraud victims comes in two separate e-mails."

The FBI is warning people that this e-mail scam is a hoax, and they should not respond to it. If you have received this or any similar hoax via e-mail, you should file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center.