Saturday, March 24, 2012
Is There A Place To File Fraudulent Emails?
I get a lot of, "You must contact us at once about your account with " fill in a bank or credit card company with whom I have never had any business. I generally ignore them, but I do find myself wondering: is there any agency making an effort to track down these criminals? I don't get taken by these frauds, but there are a lot of people who do. I know that we're not going to send SEAL Team 6 after them, but these identity thieves will keep doing this until someone drags them into criminal court somewhere. Is there any agency that pursues these crooks?
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Most banks usually have addresses for reporting fraudulent emails and phishing. If anything can be done at all it will probably have to be through the banks as I suspect that the banks have better contacts in any agencies which might deal with such matters.
ReplyDeleteI worked fraud claims for a financial institution for years. My advice is to notify an institution immediately if a scam email is purporting to originate with them (ie notify a bank first if you get a scam email with their logo/branding). This will make them aware of the situation so they can file a take down with an isp or disconnect with a telephone company (for text scams). This stops the bleeding first so they can limit contact between the scammers and their customers. If you get a general email or even want to take it another step with the specifically targeted email, my recommendation is to file with FTC.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
They are kind of the catch-all for filing claims of all kinds of electronic junk. On this link you will also see the "Do Not Call Registry" which is another great resource. You can also file a complaint there if you are receiving "robocalls" or calls from companies if you are on the list and do not do business with them.
I typically forward them to
ReplyDeletephishing@PURPORTEDDOMAIN.com
&
abuse@PURPORTEDOMAIN.com
Usually results in a couple of nice form letter back from the financial company letting me know first that the report was received and then a second email confirming that it was a phishing attempt.
But a visit from Seal Team 6 would cut down on recidivism, and word would get around to their compatriots that other work might be more healthful and longer lasting.
ReplyDelete