USA

[Aeval]

* Scam Victims United -http://www.scamvictimsunited.com

* Up to date information on fradulent checks in circulation:
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2006/index.html

* www.fraud.org (http://www.fraud.org) has a call centre hotline. You can also get advice by calling toll-free, 800-876-7060 (from outside the U.S., Canada, or Puerto Rice, dial 1-202-331-8590) Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Eastern Time. You can report Telemarketing and Internet Fraud by using the online complaint form or the call center.

* www.fraudaid.com (http://www.fraudaid.com)

* www.crimes-of-persuasion.com (http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com)

* www.wccfighter.com (http://www.wccfighter.com)

* Although the 419 scammers (advance fee fraud scammers) don't seem to be into identity theft, here is some information for any victim that is having problems with identity theft (or is concerned about the possibility of identity theft -- ie: if they gave their Social Security Number to a scammer):

Although it is possible to have your Social Security Number changed, it is not recommended, for it opens up a whole another can of worms and all sorts of problems.

Instead, U.S. credit reporting agencies recommend that you put a fraud alert on your credit report. What this does: when banks, credit card companies, etc. get an application for an account to be opened and they pull your credit report, it tells them that they should request more information to prove your identity.

Fraud alerts are good for 90 days. Or, if you have been a victim if identity theft (and have police reports, etc regarding such) you can file for an extended fraud alert that lasts for 7 years.

More information on filing fraud alerts with credit reporting agencies (including links for doing it) can be found at Experian's website here http://www.experian.com/rd_personal/ps_securityalert_redir.html (Experian is one of the 3 credit reporting agencies in the U.S. and fraud alert will propogate out to the other two agencies)

* The US agency tasked with investigating 419 scams is the United States Secret Service. You can view their anti-419 advisory, as well as find out how to contact your local USSS office on this page:

http://www.secretservice.gov/alert419.shtml

* Another agency partially involved in investigating 419 scams is the Federal Bureau of Investigation. You can find their 419 advisory here (please scroll down about three pages to see it):

http://www.fbi.gov/majcases/fraud/fraudschemes.htm

* The FBI, in cooperation with the National White Collar Crime center, has developed a tool for reporting online fraud. You can file a report here:

http://www.ic3.gov/

* The Federal Trade Commision is also interested in 419 scams. While the FTC does not prosecute those crimes, they gather information about them and share it with consumers as well as Law Enforcement agencies. You can find an FTC advisory on 419 scams here:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/nigeralrt.htm

* Some 419 scammers claim to have been having dealings with the United States Customs and Border Protection agency. Should you wish to speak to CPB directly, you can find their contact information here:

http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contacts/

You can also find a FAQ regarding such transactions here:

http://help.customs.gov/cgi-bin/customs.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=705

[ScamVictimsUnited]

I am the co-founder of the website www.ScamVictimsUnited.com
My husband and I started this site after we became victims of the Counterfeit Cashier's Check Scam in 2002. Our site is starting a letter writing campaign to try and bring media attention to this scam. If you would like to help us you can view the information about our plan at http://scamvictimsunited.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1008

Also, since I personally get many emails and phone calls from media across the country, if you are a victim who would be interested in speaking with the media please send me an email with the following information.


Subject: Scam Victim - (name of the state you live in)

Information to include:
Your name
Your COMPLETE mailing address
Your daytime phone number
Your evening phone number
Your email address

If you want to include when you were scammed and how much you lost that would be helpful for us to keep some "statistics" also.

If I am contacted by a member of the media from your state I will pass this information on to them so that they can contact you directly. The only thing that I ask is that you mention ScamVictimsUnited.com in your interview.

I got a call from a reporter from the Washington Post. She would like to speak with victims and then go back and speak with the bank and find out how this can happen and why they are not doing more to help protect their customers. She is even talking about bringing this story to the attention of people within the legislature . . . this could be a good shot at getting some GREAT attention to the scam and actually getting something done about it.

So please send your story and contact information to
Caroline Mayer
mayerc@washpost.com
or call her at 202-334-7550

Remember to include all of your contact information in your letter . . . name, address, phone and email . . . they want to put this story together in the next couple of weeks so lets get moving on this fast!

Also, we have gotten interest in the story from ABC news

Send detailed story with full contact information to
ABC News
7 West 66th Street
New York, NY 10023

Attn:Jennifer - Scam Story Enclosed

Thanks!
Shawn
www.ScamVictimsUnited.com

Also, I forgot to mention . . . thank you to this site and the great work that you are doing to spread the word about these scams!

[full auto]

* The Federal Trade Commision is also interested in 419 scams. While the FTC does not prosecute those crimes, they gather information about them and share it with consumers as well as Law Enforcement agencies. You can find an FTC advisory on 419 scams here:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/nigeralrt.htm


A slight update on this end, the FBI through IC3 is very interested in investigating online fraud when American citizens are victimized through this (please DO report to them). The same goes with the FTC, but more on the preventative end. Even at this end of consumer protection, I would highly suggest reporting to the FTC as well. They do have some teeth and they are known to bite online crime rather heavily.

As of recently, this sector of our government has been monitoring online criminal activity and taking action via legal means of shutting down "hubs" of internet crime (hosts and ISP's who cater to online crime). So, it is of vital importance to report fraudulent and illegal online activity to them. Some of the best ways of doing that are via -

The FTC’s spam database has served as the basis for FTC cases involving pyramid schemes, money-making chain letters, credit card scams, credit repair scams, bogus weight-loss plans, fraudulent business opportunities, and other scams that were promoted via email.

Consumers who wish to forward unwanted or deceptive spam to the FTC should use the spam@uce.gov address. Whenever you complain about spam, it's important to include the full email header.
Source: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/07/newspamemail.shtm

As stated above, they will want a full email header so as to determine the network the email came from. For more information about how to get the header off of an email see this (http://www.fraudwatchers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=585). If you are lost here, please contact the support staff here at fraudwatchers.org and we will gladly help you obtian the headers to report it to the FTC.

Do report to the FTC and as always... keep pushing back at the scammers!