Email Scams--How To Report Them

I saw this post over at Michelle Malkin's blog, and wanted to provide a link on how to report so-called "419 scams" to the proper U.S. authorities.

"419 scams" are legally considered a form of mail fraud. It goes without saying that one should never respond to such emails, but how does one report them? Go to this link at Crimes-of-Persuasion.com for the lowdown. If you have been smart and have not responded or lost money, forward the email to the Secret Service:

Secret Service e-mail

I keep that address in my Outlook Address Book to make it easy to forward the scam emails. The Crimes-of-Persuasion.com website further counsels,

"Materials sent in should still be labeled No Financial Loss - For Your Database if that is the case and Loss - and whether or not there is a US Connection - if there was a loss. If you are from outside the US, you should also note the country you are from."

There is also a snail-mail address for actual letters received in the mail.

I receive several of these kinds of solicitations a week, at my blog email address. That is the only public email address I have, and it is also the only one where I receive spam (for the most part).

In addition to the Secret Service email address, I keep several other email addresses in my address book for "phishing" emails that I get (supposedly) from PayPal, Amex, Bank of America, eBay, and Southtrust Bank. Most banks and other institutions have a security page on their websites and provide a link to forward the "phish." The security pages I have read usually say one should not alter the email in any way, just forward it to the email address provided.