I need some advice about an e-mail scam.?

Question

I just recieved an e-mail from someone claiming to be a U.N. doctor from South Africa who says he stole 45 million dollars from the U.N. and wants me to help him move the money to the U.S. using my bank account. Of course, I would be handsomely rewarded for my efforts.
Does anyone know who, if anyone I should report this to. Or should I just delete it and hope no unsuspecting sucker falls for this guys scam later on.
Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

Just delete it, there are tons of them floating around, usually from Nigeria. Good for you catching it and not responding to it. The government is well aware of it. I actually had a friend that received one of these in "snail mail". He followed certain instructions in it like faxing some info but stopped short of some of the major stuff. He then turned it over to the authorities for mail fraud. Too bad email cannot be prosecuted the same way, but unless you are silly enough to get burned it doesn't matter. You can report it but it doesn't matter, they just create a new identity and keep on going. There are so many ways to access the Internet without giving yourself away it is pathetic i.e., cybercafes, public libraries and damn near every rest area along Highway 80 in Iowa, (they have WiFi connections), point is you didn't fall for it, give yourself a pat on the back , delete the email and move on.

Answer 2

Well, I'm not sure how many of those emails you receive but I saw a news segment on people from Africa sending these types of emails and I have actually received a few myself. According to the news segment I saw, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has been having a hard time tracking these individuals down because basically all they have is an email address. So, I'd just ignore it if I were you because there is an ongoing investigation with regards to that matter. But, I believe the FTC handles things of that nature

Answer 3

Of course, it is totally bogus, but I doubt any offense has been committed at this stage. It is always difficult to know where the scam originates from.

It appears similar to the notorious 419 scams, so check out www.419eater.com for tips and advice.

Millions of these e-mails are sent out every day, so there will always be some poor sucker who falls for it.

Answer 4

I would recommend that you simply delete the message. The criminals are not in the United States and therefore not subject to American laws.

The FBI or Secret Service would not send agents across the world to attempt to liasion with foreign law enforcement for a criminal case in which you lost no money. It is excellent that you are looking out for fellow potential victims, but this is a grey area.

Answer 5

There are so many of these scams around, it is almost impossible to investigate them. Also the sender/s usually cover their tracks fairly well, so it is also very time consuming. Third the sender/s are not usually in the same country as you so even if they are found, it is all but impossible to prosecute. I would just delete it.

Answer 6

Copy it and send it to your local FBI branch office. Explain to them how you got it. It should go to the fraud/Internet division. But, do not respond to it-of course he wants to wash it through your bank account, he wants the information to get into your bank account, whether or not he has stolen money to wash. Its a scam, turn his *** in. Check out future emails at www.snopes.com

Answer 7

You can report it to : abuse.yahoo.com or
report it to: [e-mail]. and scroll to the bottom
of the message and you'll see full headers, click on that and then
send the message to the two addresses that I put in the email and after you do that, go ahead and delete it as spam.

Answer 8

There actually is an e-mail address you can forward suspected scam mail too. [e-mail].