back to article Feds: Cheeky scammers are impersonating us in criminal capers

The FBI-backed Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has issued an advisory warning that email scammers are impersonating it to extort money from gullible punters. The cyber-cop squad said several victims had been in contact after they received emails spoofed to look as though they are coming from IC3 itself. The emails state …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    You create a climate of fear in the populous, expect the crooks to take advantage of it.

    It's already worked for the terrorists.

    1. Trigonoceps occipitalis

      So, similar to the UK parking or speeding fine system. Pay £100 now or go to court. "No you cannot have the evidence until you plead not guilty." Much simplified, but if traffic offenses can be dealt with by an offer and fine to not go to court, what is so different in an email offer and "fine" not to proceed?

      In the UK at least traffic and parking are dealt with at the road side or by post. I know that for car related offenses, but is it 100% certainly the same for Internet related activity? Yes it is of course (at least in the UK) but would those less tech savvy than me know that?

  2. Shannon Jacobs
    Holmes

    They JUST noticed?

    This has been going on for YEARS in various forms. However, this kind of crap doesn't bother me nearly as much as the ones targeting children, and many of the fake charity pitches are quite offensive, too. Then we get the ones that rudely share my email address with long lists of random suckers, or the ones that abuse supposedly reputable companies. Lately it looks like Apple users make especially good suckers. Then we get into phishing scams...

    Hey, here's a dumb idea. Why don't we attack the spammers' business models? I'm not saying we can make them into decent human beings, but if we cut them away from the money, most of them will crawl under less visible rocks.

    Do the math. There are BILLIONS of email addresses out here, and ALL of them hate spam. There are only a TINY number of suckers who feed the spammers with money or valuable personal information. If it was easier for ANY significant fraction of the billions of spam-haters to get in the way, then the spammers could not connect to their suckers. Such stupidity is truly a rare and precious resource for the spammers.

    The most obvious implementation would be integrated right into a major email system. When a wannabe spam-fighter triggers it, the spam in question would be analyzed in several steps. Essentially at each step you should see an expanded webform with analytic options to confirm or extend or anti-spammer measures to endorse or reject. The simple goal would be to attack ALL of the spammers' infrastructure, pursue ALL of the spammers' accomplices, and help and defend ALL of the spammers' vcitims. Amusing that the victims includes the feds in the example of this article, eh?

    Why don't ANY of the major email providers try to convert some of the spammer hate to a good purpose? Instead, it's hard not to wind up hating all email, giving the volume of the spam.

    1. ecofeco Silver badge

      Re: They JUST noticed?

      You just described half of Postini. The missing half of Postini is the pursuit of the spammers and scammers.

  3. Flip

    Guilty Conscience

    I'm sure that only a person who has actually been up to some murky activities would ever actually follow through with this. Everyone else would ignore it and/or report it.

    1. tirk
      Facepalm

      Re: Guilty Conscience

      You clearly don't do IT support for elderly relatives.

    2. Graham Marsden
      Facepalm

      Re: Guilty Conscience

      Yes, Flip, of course, because if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear...

  4. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

    Realism

    If you really want the authentic touch the email would force you to register for an online tax paying account on a site that only worked on IE6, and insisted on posting you a password 2 weeks later.

    It would then require you to enter your bank details to transfer the money and not accept credit cards or paypal.

    For extra verisimilitude it would keep firing popups asking you if - You are not claiming a foreign tax credit, except as a 'foreign' tax credit. (Warning: claiming a foreign tax credit for a foreign 'tax' credit, except where a foreign 'tax credit' is involved, may result in a fine of $125,000 and 25 years' imprisonment.)

  5. Winkypop Silver badge
    WTF?

    "buy prepaid credit cards"

    Even if a mark got as far as the request to buy prepaid credit cards, surely then they would realise the jig was up.

    1. auburnman

      Re: "buy prepaid credit cards"

      In theory they could disguise it as bribing a corrupt agent who has the power to bury the 'charges' against the mark. I doubt they've got that far yet, but I suppose it depends how long the scam has been going on, and if the baddies are continually refining it or resting on their laurels.

  6. Crisp

    Maybe if they put an FBI Warning in front of every email...

    It worked with piracy didn't it?

    1. ecofeco Silver badge

      Re: Maybe if they put an FBI Warning in front of every email...

      Anyone remember the "FBI" ransom-ware?

      It had the seal and everything. Looked pretty official, too!

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    buy prepaid credit cards and mail them to a specific address

    Sincerely yours,

    FBI

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Cheeky scammers are impersonating us in criminal capers"

    Is this some sort of turf war? Only the gubmint is allowed to lie to you, take your money and not deliver on its promises? If anyone else does it, it's called a "scam"?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "Cheeky scammers are impersonating us in criminal capers"

      It works for the US Federal Reserve.

      They borrow and borrow without any chance of repaying the enormous amount of debt that they have incurred with foreign banks, particularly China. If the government does it, it is "good finance". If anyone else does it, it's a Ponzi scheme.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    True Horror.

    The fact that this scam works tells us how horrifying the behaviour of the United States Government has been. Has anyone here heard of "FATCA?" It is an act that defines people who are not citizens of the United States to be "American Persons." You are declared an American person according to my government if you have resided inside US borders for as many as three months; made more than two dollars while here; or any other one of a very long list of innocuous behaviours. By doing just about anything that involves the United States, or any citizen of the United States, you are at risk of becoming an "American Person."

    These so-called "American Persons," can and will be pursued by the Internal Revenue Service of the United States, and others of its law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, the DEA, and the infamous NSA. Of course, everyone everywhere is subject to the vicissitudes of our CIA.

    I hate to say this because I am speaking about my very own country, but the United States is fast becoming far worse with more reach than the old Soviet Union ever dreamed of being. Not only should you hang on to your wallets with both hands, you should have alternative identifications replete with disguises just in case.

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