User Awareness of Email Scams
Event Recent FBI Email Scam
Date/Time Ongoing
Summary A warning was issued today by the FBI advising the public to avoid falling victim to an ongoing mass email scam where computer users received unsolicited emails purportedly sent by the FBI. These emails tell the recipients that their Internet use has been monitored by the FBI and that it has been determined that they have accessed illegal web sites. The email then directs the recipient to open an attachment and answer questions.
The email appears to be sent from "mail@FBI.gov" and "admin@FBI.gov", although there may be other similar addresses involved. The recipient is enticed to open the .zip attachment, which actually contains a W32/SOBER.JEN@MM worm. The goal of the worm is to gather information from the recipient's computer and to allow the email to be forwarded to all those listed in the recipient's address book.
These emails did not come from the FBI. The FBI does not engage in the practice of sending unsolicited emails to the public in this manner. They take this matter seriously and are investigating the situation. Users receiving emails of this specific nature are encouraged to report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at
www.ic3.gov.
Required Actions Users are advised to never open or click on unexpected attachments from public webmail accounts, even if the sender of the email is a familiar name to the user. Users not only risk the integrity of the NMCI Enterprise, but their own confidentiality when they exercise poor judgment by viewing or opening unknown attachments in their public webmail accounts.
Please review the following user communications concerning "phishing" and other email scams that have been reported:
- User Awareness of "Phishing" at
http://homeport/alerts/status_alert_display.asp?comno=20050111-0925
- Navy Federal Credit Union Phishing Scam at
http://homeport/alerts/status_alert_display.asp?comno=20050610-1130
Other email scams exist in today's environment, so users are reminded to remain vigilant concerning Internet and email security. Opening emails from unknown persons, or emails that contain links pointing to unexpected locations may allow malicious code to enter the NMCI Enterprise from unidentified virus threats.
Audience All NMCI Users
User Assistance Call the NMCI Help Desk at 1-866-THE-NMCI (1-866-843-6624). Refer to the user communication number below.
User Feedback Send feedback about this communication to NMCI User Awareness (NMCIUserAwareness@nmci-isf.com). This mailbox is used only to gather information. You will not receive a response.
Best Practices Remember best computing practices: Restart your PC every night before you leave. Do not shut down your PC completely. Never leave your PC logged on overnight.
These announcements are designed to provide action and awareness information regarding NMCI services. The information contained in this message is proprietary information. This information is not to be disclosed to third parties without authorization from EDS. This information is to be used solely for the purpose of performance of the NMCI contract. All published user alerts are archived at
http://homeport. User Communication
#20051122-1020
(and that is NOT my email address btw)
