Scam Alerts
Hit Man E-Mail Scam (Posted April 2007)
Some ISU employees have just begun receiving e-mail from a person saying he/she was hired to terminate the recipient, but that he/she is willing to take money not to carry out the contract.
Sometimes the sender has sent a follow-up communication with personal information calculated to make the recipient believe the threat is real.
The
FBI recommends not responding at all to these communications. For more
information, see http://www.fbi.gov/page2/jan07/threat_scam011507.htm.
Phishing
Phishing involves the fraudulent attempt to secure personal or business financial information. A common scheme involves an e-mail note which purports to be from a bank or on-line service warning that the recipient's account needs verification. The recipient is asked to provide that information on a website.
The Anti-Phishing Working Group provides advice on avoiding phishing scams and keeps records of recent phishing.
Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud
Every week, employees of the University have received solicitations by fax or e-mail from abroad, usually from persons identifying themselves as Nigerian (but not always) trying to transfer funds out of the country. The scheme involves a request to use your bank account for a wire transfer, with the promise that you will receive a handsome commission in the millions of dollars.
Participation in this scam is dangerous! Participants have been tricked into going to the foreign country, where they are subject to threats and extortion. For more information, see the following site, which has a description of this scam.
What you should NOT do:
- Do not respond. By responding to e-mail, you confirm the validity of the e-mail address. Don't use ISU Letterhead. It may be used by the recipient to further the fraudulent schemes.
What you can do:
- If the letter was sent by e-mail, forward the note to the internet service provider of the sender and ask them to take action. Most internet service provider's have a complaint service in the following form "abuse@[service provider name]," for example, abuse@yahoo.com. Reputable internet service providers will cancel such accounts.
- Although federal authorities have not been able to stop these scams, you can forward the communication to the Secret Service (U.S. Secret Service Financial Crimes Division, 950 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001; or 419.fcd@usss.treas.gov).
There is no need to send a copy of the solicitation to the Office of University Counsel or ISU Police. There's not much we can do to help.
Business Scams
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller maintains a site on Office Scams. These schemes may involve unordered goods, phony invoices or phone solicitations to buy office supplies (such as printer and copier toners).
If you receive a questionable solicitation, you may wish to consult the Office Scams link to see whether the solicitation is a common form of fraud.
