|
|
How to Report a Fraud or Scam
If you have observed a scam or been the victim of a scam, spam
or fraud and
want to report it for enforcement, here is a list of where to report different
types of scams in the US, UK, Canada and many other countries. In some cases
there is more than one agency to contact. Some scams fit into more than
one category, also.
Be sure to contact your bank or credit card company if you have
given out credit card numbers, bank account information, etc.
And we will track and post more examples, so please forward a copy to us - see the
email address at the top of this page or cut and paste the email into our
feedback form!
How to report different types of scams:
-
In the United States:
-
Reporting Spams and Scams in Other Countries
You can report spams and scams that are coming from specific email
accounts to the providers. For example, if a scammer is using a Hotmail
account to send scams or spams or receive replies, you can report it to
Hotmail. Be sure to forward the email and copy it's headers (click
here to see how) into the email you send to the provider . That helps
them to trace the source. See
this page for the reporting addresses for the major email account providers.
Scams: AFF - Nigerian, Lottery scams, Money Transfer
Frauds, Lawyers with deceased clients, etc.
- Write to the Federal Trade Commission:
spam@uce.gov - copy them on the email
and explain what has occurred since.
- U.S. Secret Service: If you
ever receive an e-mail or fax from someone you do not know requesting your
assistance in a financial transaction, such as the transfer of a large sum
of money into an account, or claiming you are the next of kin to an wealthy
person who has died, or the winner of some obscure lottery and suffered a
significant financial loss related to the advance fee fraud (so-called
"Nigerian scam"), please contact your local Secret Service field office.
Forward the email to the US Secret Service at
419.fcd@usss.treas.gov or via
fax at (202) 406-5031. The Secret Service retains these messages for future
investigations. Make sure that you include the scammer's message with its
headers (see this page for
information about how to do that). Local Secret Service office phone numbers are available in the
Field Office
Directory and may also be found on the inside cover of your local
telephone directory. Any investigation regarding this type of fraud will be
conducted on a case by case basis at the discretion of the local Secret
Service and U.S. Attorney's Office.
- If you have given money to the scammers, or believe a crime has been
committed, contact your
State Attorneys General
Businesses: Complaints with businesses with fixed
addresses
- Complaints with any US or Canadian business:
Better Business Bureau
-
Contact the Better Business Bureau where the company is located.
- Any type of Crime; Write to the Federal Trade Commission:
spam@uce.gov and
- contact your
State Attorneys General.
Your state Attorney General or local office of consumer protection is also
listed in the government pages of your telephone book
- Phishing and Spam:
Internet Crime Prevention & Control
Institute, a cooperative effort between Zero Spam Network Corp. and
the University of Miami. Staffed by Miami undergraduate and graduate
students and Zero Spam employees, works closely with the Secret Service's Electronic Crimes Task Force
and ISPs in the United States and abroad to identify and block traffic to
machines hosting phishing sites.
- And of course, you can notify the company that is being "spoofed"
- for example, if you receive a phishing attempt that looks like it
came from PayPal, write to the scam reporting at Paypal -
click here for the addresses
for most major companies that have been spoofed.
Medical Frauds, Illegal Drug Sales and Spam
Postal scams (actual letters in
your mailbox / mailslot / postbox)
Government Fraud Centers Around the World
- spam@fs.dk - Include a brief description of your complaint, your
name, address and email address.
United Kingdom - UK, Great Britain, England,
Scotland, Wales, Northern Island, etc.
|
To forward unwanted or deceptive spam to the Federal Trade Commission; send it to
spam@uce.gov,
and be sure to include the full email header.
Also see the
FTC
and here to
Report
Porn Spam. In California, also use
caspam@doj.ca.gov. In
Missouri, use spamcomplaint@ago.mo.gov.
In
Virginia, use cybercrime@oag.state.va.us.
