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HOW TO REPORT A SCAM LETTER

What to do if you receive a scam letter

Lottery, Sweepstakes, contest winning notifications • Employment offers to process checks, money orders, wired funds • Employment offers to reship merchandise • Inheritance • Next of kin • Zimbabwe farmer • Princess • Offers to buy advertised products • Romance • Charity • Transfer money to another country • US Soldier • Reimburse money lost in a scam • Foreign currency exchange (FOREX) • Small investment for large, short term return • Green Card • Stranded traveler • Foreign orphanage • Money owed to you from a foreign contract or invoice • Unclaimed funds in a foreign account • Foreign investor • Overpayment for product, services, rental, hotel room, bed & breakfast • Threat of assassination, rape, or harm to family • Loan from a Canadian or other foreign lender requiring advance fees • the list is nearly endless.

Many people merely delete scam emails or forward them to friends to share a laugh.  That would be fine if everyone thought the letters laughable.  The truth is that people in desperate financial situations will cling to even the most outrageous source of hope for relief.

As I pointed out in on the previous page, it is an accumulation of evidence that gives law enforcement the edge.

At one time the US Secret Service ran what was called the Nigerian 419 Task Force.  After 9-11 that Task Force was dissolved and the Secret Service became a division of Homeland Security.  The Secret Service maintained the address for scam email reports for several years after that, but now the address no longer exists.

In response to this, Fraud Aid has developed an extensive program to accept all scam emails.

The information culled from the emails is gathered and analyzed.  Qualified information is forwarded to enforcement agencies and service providers worldwide.

To learn how to file a Scam Email Report please go to www.fraudaid.com/find_headers.htm.

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