Hoaxes and Scams

If you are the victim of Internet fraud, contact:

• The FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Center

Or visit warnings pages before you get burned:

• FBI warnings
• Symantec Threat List

Other resources:

• National White Collar Crime Center

Just remember:
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Hoaxes and scams are abundant on the Internet:

• Your bank sending email asking for confirmation of account info
• Nigerian widows wanting to give you money
• Partial-truth stories about Jane Fonda
• Bill Gates paying people thousands of dollars
• Virus alerts saying to delete files on your system
• All of the above are hoaxes and scams

Email is the most popular way hoaxes spread.

Before taking action on email you receive, even from people you know, search below or visit the sites to the right.

Symantec Anti-Virus Research Center: Help

McAfee Virus Information Center: Help

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Help

About.com Urban Legends & Folklore: Help

TruthOrFiction.com:
Help

The Straight Dope:
Help

National Fraud Information Center: Help

CyberSpace Law Center: Help

Some clues that what you received is a hoax

• Financial institutions sending email leading you to divulge information
• You are told about a new virus that neither Norton or McAfee recognize
• You are instructed to delete one or more files from your computer
• You are asked to send the message to everyone you know
• You are told that "This is no joke".

Suggestions to save you time and grief:

• Never respond to emails asking you to click a link and confirm confidential information
• Never open files attached to email, even from people you know, unless you are specifically expecting an attachment
• Many viruses use email to spread themselves by appearing to come from people you know and trust
• Be especially suspicious of attachments with names ending in .EXE, .VBS, .JS, .BAT and other endings you do not recognize

For useful tips click here.