E-mail scam makes use of Patriot Act

Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2004 | 9:28 a.m.

Are you licking your wounds from sending a sizeable money order to the "Dutch Lottery" to collect a phony jackpot or from giving your account information to another scam artist who supposedly was going to update your eBay account?

Then you better be alert for the latest Internet e-mail scam that accuses you of potentially violating the Patriot Act and threatens that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will no longer insure your bank account.

Local, state and federal authorities say don't click on the hyperlink or provide the vital information requested because it is an identity theft scheme.

"This is very concerning," said Jerry Bussell, the state's special administrator of Homeland Security. "It takes advantage of people's lack of knowledge of the Patriot Act and uses it to get personal information that can be used to access bank accounts.

"The average person does not know what is in the Patriot Act, and some believe it is intended to deprive you of your civil rights, when it is designed to protect us."

Bussell, whose office works in conjunction with the Nevada Emergency Management Office, said if authorities believe people are in violation of the Patriot Act, "they will not contact them by e-mail."

Clark County Emergency Management Coordinator Jim O'Brien agrees, noting, "it sounds like a scam. You would be notified (of any violations) by law enforcement agencies."

The Homeland Security office in Washington, D.C., said it is referring all inquiries about the FDIC e-mail to the FBI.

"This is a variation of other types of e-mail fraud that are being looked at by the Nevada Cyber Crime Task Force," said Special Agent Todd Palmer, a local FBI spokesman. "This particular one is more prevalent on the East Coast than it is here."

It is not known how many Southern Nevadans, if any, have fallen for this scheme, Palmer said.

The Internet and e-mail have been used to perpetrate scams on the unsuspecting public -- sometimes to defraud people out of money, other times to steal identities.

Among them was a supposed Dutch Lottery in which a potential victim was notified by e-mail that he had won a six-figure prize, but that because of international law, the money could not be sent unless a four-figure processing fee was paid.

Another is an e-mail supposedly from eBay, warning your account is about to expire and asking for your "user ID" and account number. The crook then uses that information to pose as the victim to buy items, receive the merchandise and sell it or to sell non-existing items and pocket the money.

The latest scam sends a more foreboding message:

"In cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security, federal, state and local governments, your account has been denied insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation due to suspected violations of the Patriot Act ...

"As a result, Department of Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge has advised the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to suspend all deposit insurance on your account until such time as we can verify your identity and your account information."

Bussell said that e-mail message is additionally troubling because of many people's lack of understanding about computers.

"A number of people do not know that e-mail is not private," Bussell said. "As a result, this can make them a target of identity theft."

O'Brien said he believes people have become savvy to these kind of scams and that this one won't pose a problem similar to past attempts.

"I'd like to give people some credit," he said.

O'Brien also said that even though the wording of the e-mail may appear threatening, "It does not go to the point of terrorism as defined under federal law."

Bussell urges anyone who has received the e-mail to report it both to the FBI and to the state Homeland Security office via his agency's website (homelandsecurity.nv.gov).

"We would like to get a barometer of how many hits our state is getting and the frequency of them," Bussell said.

O'Brien said spam filters and other computer products are available to better protect people's e-mail from such schemes.