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Frauds from A to Z

Credit card fraud...online dating scams...scareware. Not only are there are a lot of ways to be taken advantage of out there, but fraudsters are coming up with new ways to scam you every day. It’s important to educate yourself on the gamut of these fraudulent schemes so you know what to watch out for and avoid becoming a victim.

To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of many of the common and emerging frauds—both specific schemes and larger categories of crime—investigated by the FBI and its partners. We will be adding more links and information as time goes on, so check back often.

Frauds from A to Z

White Supremacy Extremism

It seems like a throwback to a different era, but white supremacy—which sees whites as inherently superior to those of other races—still exists in America today. Having those kinds of beliefs is not against the law…as a matter of fact, it’s protected by the First Amendment. But white supremacy becomes a crime—and for the FBI, a form of what we call extremism—when it is furthered through threatened or actual use of force or violence or other illegal activity.

The Bureau has been investigating the criminal activities of white supremacy extremists like Ku Klux Klan members since as early as 1918. Today’s extremists are more challenging than ever. They’re affiliated with a variety of white supremacy groups, and they can be motivated by any number of religious or political ideologies. We’re also seeing more lone offenders and small, violent factions of larger groups at work, which makes detection of these crimes tougher.

Learn more about the threat, how the FBI is addressing it, and recent cases.

Remembering Judge Giovanni Falcone

Giovanni Falcone

Marking the 20th anniversary of his assassination by Mafia hit men, a tribute was held at FBI Headquarters to remember Giovanni Falcone, an Italian judge, as a courageous opponent of the Mafia—and one of the earliest advocates of international cooperation in the fight against organized crime.

At the ceremony, Director Robert S. Mueller, who was joined by two former FBI directors and several Italian dignitaries in paying tribute to Falcone, noted, “Long before ‘globalization’ became part of our vernacular, Judge Falcone recognized that no one department or country could fight crime alone. He went to great lengths to cultivate strong relationships—friendships—with partners here in the United States and around the world.”

Full story

Reward Offered in White Powder Letters Case

Sample letter in white powder mailings

Since 2008, more than 380 letters featuring a postmark from North Texas and containing a white powder substance have been sent to various locations around the country—more than 20 were sent last week alone. All of the letters are believed to have come from the same person, who has taken steps to conceal his activities and prevent law enforcement from finding physical evidence of his crimes, including his fingerprints.

At a press conference in Dallas today, the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for these mailings. In a flyer issued at the press conference, the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit provided possible characteristics of the sender. A sample letter was also released, highlighting features common in many of the mailings.

Fortunately, none of the letters—which have been received by schools, day care centers, churches, government offices, U.S. Embassies abroad, restaurants, and other private businesses—have contained hazardous materials. However, no threat is taken lightly. Each incident is treated as a real event, and the response to hoax white powder letters uses law enforcement resources that could be utilized for investigations and emergency response matters.

Anyone with information concerning these letters should contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip at https://tips.fbi.gov.

Press release | Reward flyer (pdf) | Sample letter

Celebrating 40 Years of Women Special Agents

The FBI Academy in 1972, when the first women in the modern era were sworn in as special agents.

On May 12, 1972, Acting Director L. Patrick Gray opened a new chapter in Bureau history by allowing women applicants to be considered for the position of special agent.

Today, 2,675 women special agents serve in a variety of positions within the FBI, in every way equal to their male counterparts. They are superb agents who just happen to be women.

Over the next several months, we will be posting additional spotlights and stories featuring our women agents, commemorating 40 years of service and excellence.

Full story

Preliminary Statistics for Law Enforcement Officers Killed in 2011

Seventy-two law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty last year, according to preliminary statistics released today. The figure is 16 more officers than were killed the previous year. Release of the report coincides with National Police Week May 13-19, when law enforcement officers from around the world gather in Washington, D.C. to honor colleagues who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Of the 72 officers killed, 14 were victims of unprovoked attacks, 11 were killed during traffic pursuits or stops, six were killed during tactical situations, five were killed during entrapments/premeditated ambushes, and five were slain while investigating suspicious persons or circumstances.

“Each of these losses is devastating,” FBI Director Robert S. Mueller said in a video message to law enforcement colleagues. “And each one reminds us that the safety and the freedom we enjoy come only at great cost.”

The FBI will release final statistics on officers killed and assaulted in the line of duty in the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program’s publication, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2011, which will be published on our website in the fall.

The UCR Program, part of the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division, has been collecting and publishing law enforcement statistics since 1937, most notably the annual Crime in the United States reports. In 1972, the FBI began producing detailed reports on officer fatalities after the larger law enforcement community sought the Bureau’s involvement in preventing and investigating officer deaths.

Read more | Past reports | National Police Week 2012

New IC3 Internet Crime Report

Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an easy, centralized place to report cyber fraud?

There is, and it’s called the Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3, jointly run by the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center.

Today, IC3 released its latest annual report, covering all the relevant and telling statistics of 2011. Overall, the center fielded more than 300,000 complaints for the third year running, adding up to losses of nearly a half-billion dollars. The total number of complaints last year rose by 3.4 percent.

Just some of what the report includes:

• A rundown of the yearly complaint totals since IC3 opened in May 2000; 
• Lists of the top 10 states for complaints by volume (California was #1) and by population rate (Alaska was the highest); 
• Victim dollar losses in many categories with breakdowns by gender; 
• The most frequently report Internet frauds and detailed stats on each; and 
• Scam alerts issued by IC3 during the year.

We welcome your complaints and use your reports of potential or actual cyber fraud individually and in aggregate as intelligence to fuel our investigations. And they help us get our arms around the latest and most common scams so we can then report that information back to you, along with tips on how to avoid being victimized. (You can find such tips in the report in Appendix I.)

Read the full report for more details. To report a cyber scam, go to http://www.ic3.gov/.

2011 Internet Crime Report (pdf) | Press Release

Director Briefs Congress on Major National Security and Criminal Threats Facing the Nation

Director Mueller testifies before the House Judiciary Committee.

At an oversight hearing this morning, Director Mueller briefed the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on the FBI’s current priorities, which include the top national security and criminal threats to the nation.

In the area of national security, Director Mueller highlighted counterterrorism as our top priority and said that while Al Qaeda affiliates and adherents represent the top counterterrorism threat to our nation, homegrown violent extremists are also a major concern. In the counterintelligence area, he reported on the growing scope of the “insider threat” in economic espionage—when employees use their legitimate access to steal trade secrets for another country or another company. In the cyber arena, while the Director said that while the counterintelligence threat is increasingly cyber-based and foreign cyber spies are becoming adept at exploiting weaknesses in our computer networks, we’re also concerned about cyber threats from hackers and other criminals who are committing crimes for profit and from hacktivist groups.

Director Mueller also touched on some of our criminal priorities, including financial crimes like mortgage fraud and health care fraud, gangs and violent crimes, transnational organized crime, crimes against children, and crime in Indian Country.

Read full statement

Historic Medicare Fraud Strike Force Takedown

FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce (at podium) and Attorney General Eric Holder at press conference

A nationwide takedown by Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in seven cities has resulted in charges against 107 individuals, including doctors, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals, for their participation in Medicare fraud schemes involving approximately $452 million in false billing. This coordinated operation involved the highest amount of false Medicare billings in a single takedown in strike force history.

FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce joined Attorney General Eric Holder, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and several other officials at a press conference in Washington, D.C. today to announce the charges. Said Joyce, “Health care fraud is not a victimless crime. Every person who pays for health care benefits, every business that pays higher insurance costs to cover employees, every taxpayer who funds Medicare—all are victims.”

Joyce also said that the FBI is currently investigating more than 2,600 cases of health care fraud and that more and more criminal enterprises are engaging in this crime. “These syndicates share strategies to steal money and avoid detection. They shift from one jurisdiction to the next to find new patients and new victims. They are savvy to health care rules and regulations, and they know how to exploit the system.”

To combat this fraud, the FBI has more than 500 agents and analysts using intelligence to uncover schemes and collecting evidence through undercover operations and wiretaps. In 2011, the FBI and its partners obtained more than 300 disruptions or dismantlements of criminal groups, charged more than 1,600 individuals, and helped secure more than 700 convictions.

The Medicare Fraud Strike Force, a joint effort of the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services, is multi-agency team of federal, state, and local investigators designed to combat fraud through the use of Medicare data analysis techniques. Since their inception in March 2007, strike force operations have charged more than 1,330 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $4 billion.

Department of Justice press release
Remarks by Attorney General Eric Holder
Remarks by Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer
Remarks by Deputy Director Sean Joyce
Related Chicago press release
Related Detroit press release
Related Los Angeles press release
Related Miami press release
Related New Orleans press release
Related Tampa press release

Scam “Pays” You to Drive Your Own Car (And Other Cons to Watch For)

Although some businesses legitimately pay to advertise their companies’ logos on people’s personal vehicles, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has received several notifications regarding a similar—but completely bogus—offer.

After responding to online postings that advertised an easy way to earn $400-$600 a week by transforming their cars into billboards, victims were sent checks or money orders for more than the promised amount and directed to cash them at banks and wire the difference to the “graphic designer” providing the vinyl decal or auto wrap for the vehicle. The problem? The checks and money orders were counterfeit, which left the victims responsible for the banks’ losses.

Other items featured in this month’s report from the IC3 include an investment scam, the release of the latest Blackhole exploit kit, a malware-containing spam e-mail regarding CPA license termination, and online property rental scams and scenarios.

Read latest report | More on IC3 | E-Scams & Warnings