June 16, 2005

Lansing - The Michigan State Police is warning citizens about recent E-mail scams.  These scams may appear in many different forms, but in all cases, the offer is always too good to be true.

One popular scam uses E-mails that appear to be from legitimate companies who you may in fact be doing business with.  On behalf of this company, which may be a bank or credit card company, the sender usually asks for personal information, including account numbers, passwords, social security numbers, addresses or phone numbers to confirm your account, fix a problem or create a new account.  With this information, scam artists can illegally use your identity to conduct criminal activity.  Most legitimate businesses will not ask for personal information via E-mail or telephone, especially if you do not initiate the contact.

Another scam to watch for uses gimmicks such as "complete this survey to receive a free gift card” or "this is your lucky day, by sending your bank information you can get a portion of $7.5 million."  The MSP reminds citizens that if something sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.

The Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud scam is another prevalent scam seen in Michigan.  In this scam, victims receive an E-mail from someone posing as an intermediary who needs to facilitate a transaction, but needs the help of someone in the United States.  Using the excuse they need to transfer money to an overseas bank account, past scams have involved perpetrators posing as Nigerian government officials or heirs to overseas fortunes.  With the promise of fast cash for the victim, the perpetrator sends the victim a check with instructions to cash it and return a portion of the money to them, with the remainder being profit.  Unfortunately, the counterfeit check never clears the bank, and the victim loses the money sent to the perpetrator. 

The best defense against the Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud is to delete the E-mail and any subsequent E-mails that you receive regarding the Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, Michigan is ranked 16^th nationwide for identity theft victims (per 100,000 population).  Every 79 seconds a thief steals someone's identity, opens an account in the victim's name, and goes on a spending spree. The average victim can spend anywhere from six months to two years and over $1,400 recovering from identity theft.

To help prevent identity theft:

• Never give out identifying information in response to unsolicited offers by phone, mail, Internet, or in person unless you initiate the contact.
• When using the Internet to make purchases, look for the “s” in the address (https) to ensure a secure site.
• Subscribe to the identity protection services offered by your bank.
• Review financial and credit card statements monthly for unauthorized activity.
• Review the identity theft information on the MSP website at http://www.michigan.gov/identity-theft.

The MSP would also like to remind parents that the Internet can be a dangerous place for children.  With the school year coming to a close, children’s Internet activity may increase at home.  Parents can help practice Internet safety at home by placing the home computer in a common area allowing for observation of users’ Internet activity.

Read more news releases from the Michigan State Police.