Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Press release available in both English and Spanish.

The FBI El Paso field office has seen an increase in fraudulent unemployment insurance claims complaints related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic involving the use of stolen personally identifiable information (PII)

Nationwide, individuals have been victimized by criminal actors impersonating the victims and using the victims’ stolen identities to submit fraudulent unemployment insurance claims online. The criminals obtain the stolen identity using a variety of techniques, including the online purchase of stolen PII, previous data breaches, computer intrusions, cold-calling victims while using impersonation scams, email phishing schemes, physical theft of data from individuals or third parties, and from public websites and social media accounts, among other methods.

Many victims of identity theft related to unemployment insurance claims do not know they have been targeted until they try to file a claim for unemployment insurance benefits, receive a notification from the state unemployment insurance agency, receive an IRS Form 1099-G showing the benefits collected from unemployment insurance, or get notified by their employer that a claim has been filed while the victim is still employed

The FBI advises the public to be on the lookout for the following suspicious activities:

• Receiving communications regarding unemployment insurance forms or payments when you have not applied for unemployment benefits.
• Receiving a state taxable income form 1099-G reflecting unemployment benefits you have not applied for.
• Receiving a notice that your claim was rejected because there is a claim already in your name.
• Unauthorized transactions on your bank or credit card statements related to unemployment benefits.
• Any fees involved in filing or qualifying for unemployment insurance.
• Unsolicited inquires related to unemployment benefits.
• Fictitious websites and social media pages mimicking those of government agencies.

Tips on how to protect yourself:

• Be wary of telephone calls and text messages, letters, websites, or emails that require you to provide your personal information or other sensitive information, especially birth dates and Social Security numbers. Be cautious with attachments and embedded links within emails and texts, especially from an unknown sender.
• Monitor your bank accounts on a regular basis and request your credit report (annualcreditreport.com) at least once a year to look for any fraudulent activity. If you believe you are a victim, review your credit report more frequently.
• Immediately report unauthorized transactions to your financial institution or credit card provider.
• Follow good computer hygiene and cybersecurity practices.
• Research unemployment benefit websites, including state unemployment insurance agencies, before providing your PII. There are many fake websites mimicking legitimate websites. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-warns-about-fake-unemployment-benefit-websites

If you are a victim of a fraudulent unemployment insurance claim, the FBI recommends taking the following actions:

• Immediately contact the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit records.
• Notify the Internal Revenue Service by filing an Identity Theft Affidavit (IRS Form 14039) through irs.gov or identitytheft.gov.
• Immediately call the Texas Workforce Commission at 1-800-252-3642 and request a corrected Form 1099-G.
• Notify your employer of the fraudulent claim as they will also need to file documentation.

If you believe you have been a victim of identity theft related to fraudulent unemployment insurance claims, report the fraud to law enforcement, your state unemployment insurance agency, the IRS, credit bureaus, and your employer’s human resources department. The FBI encourages victims to report fraudulent or any suspicious activities to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov or with the National Center for Disaster Fraud at 1-866-720-5721. You may consult identitytheft.gov for help in reporting and recovering from identity theft.

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El FBI en El Paso Nota un Aumento en Reclamos Falsos de Desempleo Utilizando Identidades Robadas

La Oficina del FBI en El Paso ha notado un aumento en los reclamos de seguro por motivo de desempleo relacionados con la pandemia existente del COVID-19 utilizando información robada de datos personales.

Muchas personas a través del país han sido víctimas de individuos que se han hecho pasar por las víctimas y han utilizado la identidad robada de una víctima para presentar un reclamo falso de seguro por desempleo de forma electrónica por internet. Los delincuentes logran obtener identidades robadas utilizando una variedad de técnicas; éstas incluyen la compra electrónica de dicha información por internet, la violación de datos personales, la intrusión por computadoras, llamadas telefónicas directamente a las víctimas utilizando estafas de identidad, técnicas de fraude electrónico (Phishing) para obtener información a través de correo electrónico, y el robo físico de datos de personas o terceras partes, sitios web y medios sociales, entre otras.

Muchas víctimas del robo de identidad relacionado a los reclamos de desempleo están ajenas a lo sucedido hasta que intentan presentar su reclamo para beneficios de desempleo y reciben notificación de la oficina de desempleo del estado, o reciben un formulario de la Oficina de Impuestos sobre Renta (IRS) número 1099-G donde indica que recibieron beneficios del seguro de desempleo, o reciben notificación de su empresa que se hizo un reclamo mientras la víctima sigue empleada.

El FBI advierte al público a estar en alerta de la siguiente actividad sospechosa:

• Recibir información relacionada a formularios o pagos de desempleo cuando no se han solicitado dichos beneficios de desempleo.
• Recibir un formulario de impuestos 1099-G donde refleja beneficios de desempleo que usted no haya solicitado.
• Recibir notificación de un rechazo de reclamo porque ya existe otro reclamo bajo su nombre.
• Transacciones no autorizadas en estados de cuentas bancarias o tarjetas de crédito relacionadas a beneficios de desempleo.
• Cualquier cobro por concepto de presentación o cualificación para seguro de desempleo.
• Consultas no solicitadas relacionadas a beneficios de desempleo.
• Sitios web y páginas de medios sociales falsas que imitan los sitios de agencias gubernamentales.

Cómo protegerse a sí mismo:

• Tenga cautela con las llamadas telefónicas, mensajes de texto, cartas, sitios web, o correos electrónicos que soliciten que provea su información personal u otro tipo de información confidencial, especialmente su fecha de nacimiento y número de seguro social. Tenga prudencia con los archivos adjuntos y los enlaces integrados en los correos electrónicos y los mensajes de texto, especialmente si son de una fuente desconocida.
• Monitoree su cuenta bancaria periódicamente y solicite un informe de crédito (annualcreditreport.com) al menos una vez al año para identificar actividad sospechosa. Si usted considera que ha sido víctima, revise su informe de crédito con más frecuencia.
• Notifique inmediatamente cualquier transacción no autorizada a la institución bancaria o al proveedor de su tarjeta de crédito.
• Siga buenas prácticas de computación y de seguridad cibernética.
• Haga una búsqueda de sitios web que ofrezcan beneficios de desempleo, incluyendo a las agencias estatales de desempleo, antes de proveer cualquier información personal que lo identifique a usted. Existen muchos sitios web falsos que imitan sitios legítimos.
  https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-warns-about-fake-unemployment-benefit-websites

Si usted es víctima de un reclamo falso de desempleo, el FBI recomienda que tome los siguientes pasos:

• Comuníquese de inmediato con las tres agencias de crédito reconocidas para colocar una alerta de fraude en su historial de crédito.
• Notifique a la Oficina de Impuestos Sobre Renta (IRS) para presentar una declaración de robo de identidad (Formulario de IRS 14039) a través de irs.gov/es o robodeidentidad.gov.
• Comuníquese de inmediato con Texas Workforce Commission al 1-800-252-3642 para solicitar un formulario 1099-G corregido.
• Notifique a su agencia de empleo sobre el reclamo falso ya que ellos tendrán que presentar su propia documentación.

Si usted cree que ha sido víctima del robo de identidad relacionado a beneficios de desempleo, reporte el fraude a las agencias policíacas, su agencia estatal de desempleo, al IRS, a agencias de crédito, y al departamento de recursos humanos de su agencia de empleo. El FBI recomienda que las víctimas reporten la actividad sospechosa al Centro de Quejas de Delitos por Internet a ic3.gov o al Centro Nacional de Desastre de Fraude al 1-866-720-5721. Para más información de cómo reportar un delito y cómo recuperarse del robo de identidad, consulte robodeidentidad.gov.

Recursos:

• https://www.consumidor.ftc.gov/articulos/s0155-informes-de-credito-gratuitos
• https://robodeidentidad.gov/
• https://www.irs.gov/es

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Welcome to the Oregon FBI’s Tech Tuesday segment. Today: Building a digital defense against cryptocurrency investment scams.

Cryptocurrency itself is perfectly legal to buy and use in the U.S. In fact, many mainstream companies are now accepting cryptocurrency for goods and services. What we are seeing, though, is an increase in bad actors who are using old style scams to steal this new-style virtual asset.

In recent months, we’ve had more people report to us that they are losing anywhere from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of dollars in investment scams. Here are some scenarios:

You see the value of cryptocurrencies going up and decide you want to invest, but don’t know how. You find a “trader” online who offers to exchange your cash for whatever brand of crypto you want to buy. He says you just need to pay a commission. When you see the value go up, you try to withdraw the funds… but your “trader” demands a new out-of-pocket commission or just quits responding to you all together.

In another scenario, someone approaches you posing as a currency investor. He says he will help you get started—but instead of transferring your initial investment into a legitimate trading account, he sends you the link to his own digital wallet. You basically just transferred your money into his personal account. He demands an even bigger payment if you want to ever see your initial “investment” back.

In a third scenario, the investor is running a Ponzi scheme. You get regular reports of incredibly high returns and increasing wealth. You might even get a partial payout occasionally, but there are always more requests for additional loans or investments. There are often promises of payments in a few weeks or months, but in the end, you end up losing almost everything.

How to protect yourself:

• Do your research. Look for reputable sources to explain what cryptocurrency is, how to buy it, how to trade it, and how to use it.
• Don’t respond to unsolicited offers or click on links you may receive through email, texts, or social media.
• Never share your private wallet key with anyone. This key is all that is standing between you and someone trying to take your money.

Of importance, you need to understand that if you lose funds through a cryptocurrency investment scam, it will be difficult—if not impossible—to recover your funds.

If you believe you are a victim of an online scam, you should report the incident to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov or call your FBI local office.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Welcome to the Oregon FBI’s Tech Tuesday segment. This week: building a digital defense against a new, scarier version of the grandparent scam.

Here’s how it works: grandparents receive a call from one of their “grandchildren.”  The grandchild’s voice may not sound right, but the grandchild explains this is due to COVID-19 or some other illness such as strep throat.

The grandchild explains he or she is in legal trouble and needs some money to get bailed out of jail. When the grandparent agrees to provide funds, the grandchild also mentions there is a “gag order” in this case, and the grandparent shouldn’t discuss this with anyone. So far—this is a typical kind of elder fraud case that we’ve seen before.

In the past, there was a heavy emphasis on payment by pre-paid gift cards or wire transfers. But, here’s the new twist: the fraudsters are demanding cash, which they want picked up in person. A supposed “bail bondsman” shows up at the victim’s home, increasing the potential physical risk to the victim. He reminds the grandparents of the gag order and to not talk about the case.

After the initial payment, the grandparents will receive calls for additional money to be sent via U.S. Mail, FedEx, UPS, or other such service.

Here’s how to protect yourself & your family:

• Don’t respond to demands for immediate action. The scammers will use fear to manipulate you, trying to get you to act without thinking.
• If you receive an unexpected call such as this, check first with your family members to see if the story is true.
• Don’t open the door for strangers, and don’t believe someone who tells you can’t report something to law enforcement.

If you or a family member has been contacted by one of these grandparent scammers, make sure to report it to your local FBI office. If you live in Oregon, the number is (503) 224-4181. You can also report such scams at the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

SAVANNAH, GA—The FBI, in coordination with the United States Air Force, is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest of the suspect(s) responsible for a laser strike on an aircraft approaching the Savannah Air National Guard Base on March 9, 2021.

On that date at approximately 9:50 p.m., a United States Air Force aircraft was deliberately struck by a high-powered laser for about one minute. The laser caused temporary eye damage to a member of the flight crew and put the entire crew at risk.

Investigators believe the laser strike originated from an area northeast of Vidalia, Georgia (see maps).

When aimed at an aircraft, a beam of light from a laser can travel more than a mile and illuminate a cockpit, disorienting and temporarily blinding pilots. Its is a serious matter and a federal felony to knowingly point the beam of a laser at an aircraft. More information about laser strikes can be found here:

https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/protecting-aircraft-from-lasers-trial-program-expanded

https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/lasers/

Anyone with information about the laser strike on March 9, 2021, is asked to contact FBI Atlanta at 770-216-3000 or go to tips.fbi.gov.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News