REPORT UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL E-MAIL ("SPAM")

The following can be found on the US Department of Justice's (DOJ) website at: http://www.justice.gov/doj/spam

Many consumers receive a variety of unsolicited commercial e-mail (also known as "spam") in their offices or at home. While people don't always like getting spam, much of it has a legitimate business purpose. Unsolicited e-mails, however, are often the initial means for criminals, such as operators of fraudulent schemes, to contact and solicit prospective victims for money, or to commit identity theft by deceiving them into sharing bank and financial account information.

The following information, e-mail addresses and contacts noted below are provided for your reference if you have received a particular type of unsolicited email and would like to report or forward it on to law enforcement authorities.

Internet Fraud

 

Hurricane Katrina Relief Fraud

 

The Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force was established by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to combat all types of fraud relating to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, with an initial emphasis on charity fraud, identity theft, insurance fraud, and procurement and government-benefit fraud. See the Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force Web Site for more information.

Africa-Based Investment Schemes

 

An increasing volume of spam consists of e-mail from a person who represents himself or herself as having some African affiliation, and who is soliciting you to help him or her transfer illegally obtained or questionable funds out of a nation in Africa. (Some more recent e-mails purport to involve moving money out of Afghanistan.) These solicitations are fraudulent, and may violate one or more federal criminal laws.

Do not send any money or financial account information if you receive one of these e-mails (or a letter or fax of a similar nature). See the U.S. Secret Service Financial Crimes Division web page for more information.
If you have responded to one of these online solicitations and have lost money, please contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center, a joint venture of the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center, and use theICCC's online complaint form.

Medical Products and Devices

 

To report e-mail that involves possibly fraudulent claims about medical devices or products (for example, so-called "miracle" cures) please email the Food and Drug Administration at webcomplaints@ora.fda.gov

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Financial Investments

 

Report investment-related spam e-mails to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission using the SEC Tips, Complaints and Referrals Portal

General

 

If you want to report other possible online crime, including online fraud (for example, "get-rich-quick" schemes or online auction fraud) whether or not you have lost money, please use the ICCC's online complaint form.

Other Types of Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail

 

For more information about reporting unsolicited e-mail that does not fall into any of the above categories, see the Federal Trade Commission's Spam E-mail web site.

To file a complaint about a violation of the National Do Not Call Registry or to register your telephone number on the Registry, please go to www.donotcall.gov.

Fact Sheets from the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT)

Reducing Spam
Recognizing and Avoiding E-mail Scams
Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks

Updated April 20, 2015

6 Tips for Avoiding Viruses, MalWare and Other Unwanted Programs

1. Know which Anti-Virus software that you are running

Do not be tricked by messages from different programs on the screen prompting to scan your computer. Know the name of your installed Anti-Virus software (AVG, Symantec/Norton, McAfee, Kaspersky, Sophos, Webroot, etc.)

2. Do not click on ads that you see on websites

Often, a website that you trust can be compromised to display messages to the side (or even pop up) that tell you that your computer is running slow or that you could be infected with SpyWare. Clicking on these links could result in AdWare, Fake Anti-Virus programs or other types of MalWare being installed on your computer.

3. Try to avoid installing "special" viewers in order to play certain videos that you find online

Most videos require Adobe Flash Player (www.adobe.com), Adobe ShockWave Player (www.adobe.com), Java (www.java.com) or Microsoft Silverlight (www.microsoft.com) to view them. If you are prompted to install another viewer or to update one of these viewers, go directly to the publisher's site to get the installation/update (do not allow the video to install it.

4. Remember "Nothing is Free"

Everything has a price. If you are downloading free software or digital content (music, videos, movies,…), be sure to scan it with your Anti-Virus software before attempting to install/play it. If an installation is required, please read each screen before accepting wwhat is being requested (many times, you are agreeing to receive ads for daily deals, share your personal information or even give control of your Internet browsing to additional programs that will also be installed).

5. Use a reputable source to acquire software/content

Purchase your security and performance tuning software from a retailer that you trust, consult with a professional and see what they recommend or do some research and see what objective people are saying.

6. Do not be extorted by fake Anti-Virus programs

There are some so-called "free" security scans out there that have been know to block access to all of your files unless you pay to "activate" their premium features. Do not pay a "ransom to get your files back (are you really comfortable giving them your credit card information?).