ATTORNEY GENERAL HOOD WARNS CONSUMERS OF RECENT EMAIL SCAM

JACKSON, Miss., June 16 -- The Mississippi Attorney General issued the following news release:

Attorney General Jim Hood is warning consumers, businesses, and fellow state agencies to be aware of a recent scam purporting to come from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). A fellow state agency has reported receiving a letter from the FBI and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from Nigeria, bearing what appears to be an FBI and EFCC seal.

The letter instructs recipients to send $350 for a "Clearance Certificate" to a Rev. Frank Tim Kelly, who is described as the Principal Legal Advisor of the U.

S. Department of Homeland Security. Rev. Kelly's bluemail.org email address is provided and recipients are instructed to email their full name, address and phone number to him. It further implies that those who do not comply will face incarceration. The letter threatens that failure to provide the required information within 24 hours will result in immediate legal action or "arresting or detaining [the recipient] as soon as international court of justice issues a warrant of arrest." The letter goes on to say that "if [the recipient is] found guilty, [the recipient] will be jailed as terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering"

An Investigator with the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office spoke with a local FBI agent who confirmed that the FBI did not issue any such e-mail.

"This is clearly not an email from the FBI and anyone receiving this email should delete it," says Attorney General Jim Hood. "The FBI will not use this type of correspondence to contact consumers."

To view the scam letter in adobe pdf format: http://www.ago.state.ms.us/images/uploads/forms/FakeFBIdocument.pdf

The Attorney General's Office points out some key features that helped in determining this email and letter to be fraudulent:

* Use of poor grammar, misspelled words, and typographical errors

* Salutations and closing phrases were inconsistent with that of a government agency

* The threat of arrest for failure to comply

* The FBI will not ever solicit funds from other government entities or citizens of the United States

"Unfortunately, scam artists often use the names of respected organizations such as the FBI to lure and intimidate consumers into thinking they are dealing with a trusted entity," said Attorney General Jim Hood. "Because of this, we continue to urge consumers to use caution before acting on unsolicited emails, voice mails, text messages or phone calls requesting personal information and/or money. Educating consumers is one of the most important actions we can take to combat scams like this one."

The Attorney General's Office offers some basic tips to help keep you from becoming a victim of these or similar scams:

*NEVER reply to an email, pop-up, telephone or text message that asks for personal or financial information. Legitimate companies WILL NOT ask for this information.

*ALWAYS contact the organization using a telephone number you know to be correct if you are concerned about your account. Do not call or text the number left in the message, and NEVER follow an internet link to a site.

*ALWAYS keep your anti-virus software up to date. In addition, use a firewall, which helps to make you invisible on the Internet and blocks communication from unauthorized sources.

*BE CAUTIOUS about opening attachments or downloading files from emails you receive, regardless of the sender.

Anyone who suspects they have been a victim of this scam or any other, should contact the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office at 1-800-281-4418. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

Jan Schaefer, 601/359-2002.