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

Emmerson Buie Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Office, announced today that the FBI is aware of a recent wave of scams in which callers identify themselves as special agents with the FBI’s Chicago Field Office to target the bank accounts of unsuspecting citizens. The FBI is asking the public to remain vigilant when receiving unsolicited phone calls and e-mails.

Scammers employ many different techniques to add an air of legitimacy to these calls. They may engage in “spoofing” of the FBI-Chicago telephone number: (312) 421-6700. Call spoofing occurs when a caller disguises their phone number and/or name to convince a victim that they are interacting with a trusted source. The victim’s caller ID may show FBI-Chicago as the caller, but it is just an illusion. Victims could be speaking with a caller anywhere in the world.

Government impersonators may claim to be FBI employees to intimidate law-abiding citizens into following orders. Scammers will fraudulently claim to be a special agent, a supervisory special agent, or even the special agent in charge. Perpetrators may purposely select the name of a real FBI employee from the official website. Victims that subsequently attempt to double-check the employee’s existence and title using the FBI website can be mistakenly reassured. The public should remember that even if a caller provides the name and title of an employee shown on fbi.gov, that is no guarantee that the listed agent is actually on the other end of the call.

Scam callers may attempt to rush victims to avoid negative repercussions like arrest and prison. Often, victims are advised:

• Their Social Security number has been “frozen,” and the FBI will arrest them if they do not make a payment.
• Their computer has been compromised, and the FBI needs their assistance to catch the criminal. Victims will then be directed to transfer large sums of their own money to help catch the criminal.

With some basic knowledge, the public can prevent this scam. The FBI will never:

• Threaten you with arrest if you do not pay us. You cannot wire a “settlement” to avoid arrest.
• Ask you to use large sums of your own money to help catch a criminal.
• Ask you for wire transfers or gift cards.
• Call about “frozen” Social Security numbers or to coordinate inheritances.

Scams impersonating the FBI and other federal agencies are a persistent problem and also occur via e-mail in addition to telephone calls. Common hallmarks of a scam e-mail include misspellings, missing words, and incorrect grammar. Fraudulent e-mails may give the appearance of legitimacy by using pictures of the FBI Director and the FBI seal and letterhead.

The FBI is charged with protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution of the United States, a mission that we take seriously. Like many federal agencies, we often request the public’s assistance to identify violent criminals, seek witness statements, or investigate critical tips. Members of the public seeking to confirm that they have been contacted by an actual FBI employee are encouraged to call FBI-Chicago at (312) 421-6700 and ask to be connected directly. Our call center is staffed around the clock by employees trained to recognize common scams.

The FBI recommends that members of the public who have been victimized take the following steps:

• Contact their financial institution and local law enforcement immediately.
• File a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at www.IC3.gov, regardless of dollar loss.
• Monitor IC3.gov consumer alerts and follow @FBIChicago on Twitter to stay up to date on the latest cyber scams.

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

Fair elections are the foundation of our democracy in the United States, and the FBI is committed to protecting the rights of all Americans to vote. The FBI is issuing this warning to educate voters about federal election crimes and how to avoid them, and to encourage voters to report suspected violations.

“Every year, Americans pick their leaders and make their voices heard through elections,” said Calvin Shivers, assistant director for the Criminal Investigative Division. “Those elections must remain free and fair to ensure voters’ voices are truly heard. As Americans get ready to vote, the FBI is asking each citizen to remain vigilant and report any suspected criminal scheme targeting voters to the FBI immediately.”

Election Crimes 

Election crimes threaten the legitimacy of elections and undermine public confidence in our democracy. Election crimes fall into four broad categories:

• Ballot fraud
• Campaign finance violations
• Patronage offenses
• Civil rights violations, such as voter suppression or voter intimidation

While individual states and localities have the constitutional authority and responsibility to manage elections and have their own election laws, an election crime becomes a federal crime when one or more of the following occurs:

• A ballot includes one or more federal candidates
• Election or polling place officials abuse their office
• The conduct involves false voter registration
• The crime is motivated by hostility toward minority protected classes
• The activity violates federal campaign finance law

Examples of federal election crimes include, but are not limited to:

• Giving false information when registering to vote
• Voting more than once
• Changing ballot markings or otherwise tampering with ballots
• Compensating voters
• Threatening voters with physical or financial harm
• Intentionally lying about the time, manner, or place of an election to prevent qualified voters from voting
• Political fundraising by federal employees
• Campaign contributions above legal limits
• Conduit contributions
• Contributions from foreign or other prohibited sources
• Use of campaign funds for personal or unauthorized purposes

Distinguishing between legal and criminal conduct is critical for ensuring the integrity of U.S. elections. The following activities are not federal election crimes; however, states have their own election laws. If you are concerned about a possible violation of a state or local election law, contact your local law enforcement.

• Giving voters rides to the polls or time off to vote
• Offering voters a stamp to mail a ballot
• Making false claims about oneself or another candidate
• Forging or faking nominating petitions
• Campaigning too close to polling places

The FBI plays an important role in preventing violations of your constitutional rights, including your right to vote. Report any instances of potential election crimes to your local FBI field office as soon as possible.

Voter Suppression 

Intentionally deceiving qualified voters to prevent them from voting is voter suppression—and it is a federal crime.

Do you know when, where, and how you will vote? If not, there are many reputable places you can find this information, including eac.gov and usa.gov/how-to-vote. However, not all publicly available voting information is accurate, and some is deliberately designed to deceive you to suppress turnout.

Bad actors use various methods to spread disinformation about voting, such as social media platforms, texting, or peer-to-peer messaging applications on smartphones. These bad actors may provide misleading information about the time, manner, or place of voting. This can include inaccurate election dates or false claims about voting qualifications or methods, such as false information suggesting that one may vote by text, which is not allowed in any jurisdiction.

Always consider the source of voting information. Ask yourself, “Can I trust this information?” Look for official notices from election offices and verify the information you found is accurate.

Help defend the right to vote by reporting any suspected instances of voter suppression—especially those received through a private communication channel like texting—to your local FBI field office.

Scam PACs 

Making political contributions can be a powerful way to exercise your First Amendment rights. But some individuals and groups soliciting contributions are bad actors trying to enrich themselves at your expense.

The billions of dollars in political spending each election cycle attracts criminals who use deception to cheat Americans out of their hard-earned money. The FBI assesses that seniors are at a high risk of being targeted.

Scam PACs are fraudulent political action committees designed to reroute political contributions for personal financial gain. This is a federal crime. Signs that a PAC is a scam include the PAC and its website disappearing, and the phone number going out of service.

If you or someone you know has been targeted by a scam PAC, contact your local FBI field office and ask to speak to an election crimes coordinator.

Recommendations for Protecting Your Vote 

• Know when, where, and how you will vote.
• Seek out election information from trustworthy sources, verify who produced the content, and consider their intent.
• Report potential election crimes—such as disinformation about the manner, time, or place of voting—to the FBI.
• If appropriate, make use of in-platform tools offered by social media companies for reporting suspicious posts that appear to be spreading false or inconsistent information about voting and elections.
• Research individuals and entities to whom you are making political donations. If something seems suspicious, reconsider the donation.

Victim Reporting and Additional Information 

The FBI encourages the public to report information concerning suspicious or criminal activity to their local FBI field office. For additional election-related assistance and resources, please visit the following FBI webpages:

En Español 

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

The FBI and CISA are informing the public that attempts by cyber actors to compromise election infrastructure could slow but not prevent voting. The FBI and CISA have not identified any incidents to date capable of preventing Americans from voting or changing vote tallies for the 2020 elections.

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

The FBI Atlanta Cyber Task Force gathered evidence that showed Dobbins was behind the hack. He pleaded guilty to computer intrusion charges in July 2020 and was sentenced to one year in prison in October 2020.

“Given the pandemic, it was especially urgent that we figure out what happened and ensure there was no continuing compromise,” Coffin said. “We also wanted to make a statement that the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are going to investigate and prosecute these types of crimes.”

In this case, like so many cyber cases the FBI investigates, a collaborative relationship with the victim company was key to success.

“In computer intrusion cases, the crime scenes are the systems in these companies’ offices, and we need their assistance to process that in a way it’s admissible in court,” Coffin said. “The FBI works very hard to proactively establish trust with companies, so when these types of things occur, we can quickly figure out what happened, and they can move forward.”

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

The FBI is asking the public for help identifying a suspect who robbed the Fifth Third Bank, located inside a Kroger store at 10945 State Bridge Road, Johns Creek, GA., on Tuesday, December 22, 2020.

At about 1:06 p.m. the suspect walked to the bank counter, pointed a gun at the teller, and gave the teller a note that announced a robbery and demanded money. The suspect gave the teller a grocery bag and ordered the teller to put the money in the bag. The suspect left the bank with an undisclosed amount of money.

The suspect is described as a light-skinned black male, about 5’8”-5’10” tall and in his 20s. At the time of the robbery, he was wearing a dark-colored hoodie wrapped tightly around his face, a dark jean jacket over the hoodie, dark-colored pants, and dark-colored sneakers with white soles.

Anyone with information about the armed robbery is asked to contact Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or submit a Crime Stoppers tip online.