Scammers Using FBI And NSA Logos, Claiming Legal Actions And Demanding Payment Via GreenDot MoneyPak
from the the-latest-iteration dept
A few weeks ago, I first heard about a scam in which scammers were calling up unsuspecting people, claiming to be the IRS and saying that the recipient had failed to pay taxes and was at risk of arrest if they didn't pay up quickly. The caller demands that the money be sent via a "GreenDot MoneyPak," which is basically the equivalent of cash. Scams like this have been going on for a while now -- just do a simple Google search on "scam, greendot" and you'll find a lot of results. Most recently, the scam has focused either on the IRS, as mentioned above, or local utilities, with threats about turning off your power, phone, etc. New York City even put out an alert directly warning about GreenDot MoneyPak scams.However, it appears that the scammers have recently attempted to move on from just the IRS and utilities -- to two appealing alternative options: the NSA and the FBI. Lawyer David Gingras apparently spotted the FBI version upon visiting a website recently:
Here's another version, using the DOJ's logo:
Malwarebytes claims that it's seen one of these scams with the CIA logo as well. However, on Friday, the issue apparently became so serious that the NSA put out an announcement about the scam using its logo:
The NSA/CSS is aware of a computer malware scam using the NSA/CSS seals and banner. Victims of this malware report that a pop-up or a locked Internet browser alerts them that they have violated the law and/or are being monitored. The scam may also request that victims pay a fine. This activity and the associated alerts have no affiliation to the federal government, NSA included, and no money should be paid to the scammers. Victims should consult a computer professional on how to address the computer infection. Victims may also contact the Internet Crime and Complaint Center, a partnership between the FBI and National White Collar Crime Center that accepts Internet-related criminal complaints. For more information about malware, users can review the NIST Guide to Malware Incident Prevention and Handling.Of course, it's no surprise that with all of the reports of NSA and FBI surveillance and abuse, that scammers would jump on the opportunity to make use of that fear in their efforts. That said, I would imagine that targeting the FBI -- which actually does investigate cybercrime -- might not be that wise of a decision for the scammers.
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Filed Under: fbi, greendot, irs, malware, money, moneypak, nsa, scams
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Now let us see if they actually know what they are doing, right? Or will they use this to champion their "let's grab it all" goal regarding online, warrantless surveillance?
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Unless the FBI designed the scam, provided the scammers with their equipment and the funding to get this going, and connected the scammers with a terrorist group, the FBI is not going to have any interest in it.
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If the NSA can't find and stop scammers...
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Re: If the NSA can't find and stop scammers...
Sorry the legal system is not designed to prevent or catch all criminals, its is only designed to make criminals out of people they don't like.
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Re: Re: If the NSA can't find and stop scammers...
Sure, but if I were the FBI, I think I'd go after these guys out of sheer spite, after all ... they're making the FBI look like fools.
Oh wait ... too late for that.
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Re: Re: If the NSA can't find and stop scammers...
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moneypak
Besides the logos listed I have seen ICE and Homeland Security.
Also ... On the DOJ screen cap, where it looks like there are 2 images, these will be pics of you taken with your webcam. Since you were on a porn site when the picture was taken .... what would you be doing?
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Re: moneypak
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Old news.
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Re: Old news.
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Behold, the only time you'll see the FBI hunt fraud
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Free market
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Re:
I think you've repeated yourself.
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MonkeyPak ??
Is that a typo or is it a bit of humor that I don't get?
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LOL. Beautiful.
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Pretty old virus, actually. Funny how our government demands payment in untraceable money orders.
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Re:
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Not the first time a government page was used
I knew something was wrong because I'm not the one who makes these payments and my email address isn't the address used to make these payments.
Checked the source code and found the hyperlink went to a "porn.com" subdirectory. I never found out if this was "porn.com"s doing or if they were hacked and was an unwitting host.
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Re:
I guess it depends what seedy websites you visit.
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I think you place far too much faith in the FBI.
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MoneyPak
http://www.moneypak.cards
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Plausible Deniability to the rescue once again.
Easiest way to know if this is true, is if the scammers DO NOT GET CAUGHT, or if all news about them stops completely.
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Computer Virus
try this and immediately contact computer experts
http://tech365.in/virusremoval.html ">Virus Removal
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fbi locked my friends phone
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Re: fbi locked my friends phone
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Re: Re: fbi locked my friends phone
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worried mom
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