U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
shington, D.C. 20535-0001
FBI NATIONAL PRESS OFFICE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(202) 324-3691 Monday, November 21, 2005
E-mails purporting to come from FBI are phony
Washington, D.C. – The FBI today warned the public to avoid falling victim to an on-going mass e-mail scheme wherein computer users received unsolicited e-mails purportedly sent by the FBI. These scam e-mails tell the recipients that their Internet use has been monitored by the FBI and that they have accessed illegal web sites. The e-mails then direct recipients to open an attachment and answer questions.
These e-mails did not come from the FBI. Recpients of this or similar solicitations should know that the FBI does not engage in the practice of sending unsolicited e-mails to the public in this manner.
Opening e-mail attachments from an unknown sender is a risky and dangerous endeavor as such attachments frequently contain viruses that can infect the recipient’s computer. The FBI strongly encourages computer users not to open such attachments.
The FBI takes this matter seriously and is investigating. Users receiving e-mails of this nature are encouraged to report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center via
http://www.ic3.gov.
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