The FBI is warning the public about malicious emails designed to appear as if they were generated by the American law enforcement agency.
In a statement released late on Tuesday, the FBI detailed the threat, which attempts to lure email users into opening an attachment containing a computer virus.
The mail is disguised as correspondence warning people that their Internet use has been monitored by the FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Center and that they have "accessed illegal Web sites." The emails then direct recipients to open the virus-laden attachment to answer a series of questions.
The FBI said it is currently investigating the origin of the malicious email and indicated that it would never send unsolicited messages to the public. The agency further warned people against opening any email attachment sent to them from an unknown sender.
Spoofing, or the practice of sending unsolicited email meant to appear as if it were generated by a reliable or known source, is a problem that continues to plague everyone from the world's largest financial services companies to government agencies to individual email users. The issue has gained renewed attention as the number of spoofing campaigns linked to identity theft scams -- also known as phishing attacks -- has increased significantly in recent years.
The FBI has been dealing other tech-related problems recently. Earlier this month, in an audit of the agency's computing infrastructure, Justice Department officials said that the FBI has failed to adequately address problems identified after the 11 September, 2001, terrorist attacks. Much of the criticism centred on the FBI's inability to install its Virtual Case File system, software meant to improve the manner in which FBI workers share information.
Reuters contributed to this report.
In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in
Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below
By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Membership FAQ
took there repos down for Ubuntu (I think there back now but they took a few months). I don't think there is a perfect answer,
2 hours ago by dava4444 on How to build a GUI for a toaster but the community coding and ideas would be gratis, maybe that's why OEM's can be 'slackers' when it comes to Linux. they just sit back and let...
2 hours ago by dava4444 on How to build a GUI for a toaster continued the bad point about that is hardware, a rival OEM can take your development and use it themselves and to retaliate you would have to go...
2 hours ago by dava4444 on How to build a GUI for a toaster continued Okay how about something like Google's approach 'semi-open source'? . the OEM pours cash in to development and code, whilst opening it...
2 hours ago by dava4444 on How to build a GUI for a toaster Hi Adrian em, interesting, yeah okay I can get this vibe, if I wanted VRec on my Tele I would need an embedded and tiny OS and you're totally...
2 hours ago by dava4444 on How to build a GUI for a toaster Hi Adrian been trying to post for three days .this spam bot is a nightmare. Dava
2 hours ago by dava4444 on How to build a GUI for a toaster Hi James I totally agree. The new site makes me want to come and post, but the spam bot refers me at every turn. I even at one point, thought I...
3 hours ago by dava4444 on Spam? Filter Changed?
the future of mobile will be location and context aware. This means, you will have apps that will suggest you depending where you are right...
5 hours ago by sameerhere on Symbian^3 will do resistive multitouch, says Nokia hello i would like to have some form of a answer to this question as it concerns the goverment i want to know why if your on state benefits as a...
5 hours ago by kenye2009 on ITN to launch ITV online news service love the LHC info. Keep up the good work. May God bless all in volved.
11 hours ago by georgiox on LHC to run for longest continuous period You are quite right. HDS has not been marketing their products well. USPV is miles ahead in terms of ease of use and technology on enterprise...
16 hours ago by sgardia on Will the SUN set on Hitachi Data Systems OEM relationship?
Fedora is the same way as well. The yum update system uses "presto" which shrinks the amount of data needed for download. It's a great system....
1 day ago by apexwm on Can you believe it - 2765 kB will be freed?
Updated ID cards considered for 2012: [zdnet.co.uk] The government is considering introducing a new generation of ID... http://dlvr.it/KpBZ
1 day ago on Twitter by cybfor Google, Viacom trade blows in YouTube copyright spat: [zdnet.co.uk] Google and the US media giant Viacom have issued... http://dlvr.it/Knht
1 day ago on Twitter by cybfor Be sure to include an audio option - eg. a beep tone - to intensify and reiterate the action. This will greatly benefit some consumers and give...
1 day ago by CIMITL Data disposal is really important to get right. There are standards set by UK and US federal governments to ensure that data is kept secure. If...
1 day ago by DataSecurityUK Online Fiber Optic Certification Join a talented group of professionals, who are dedicated to Fiber Optic Networking technology. The online course...
1 day ago by chaycon1 on BT launches 40Mbps fibre-based broadband Online Fiber Optic Certification Join a talented group of professionals, who are dedicated to Fiber Optic Networking technology. The online course...
1 day ago by chaycon1 on Google to build gigabit broadband to the home
Hi Dava, I'm glad to hear from you, and glad that you see things from the other side. I think that is the most important point of the whole...
1 day ago by J.A. Watson on Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) and the Latest Tempest please please please please please please kill that spam bot.
1 day ago by dava4444 on ZDNet UK: faster, smarter, still IT all the wayFor multi-store outlets, including retail, banking, grocery, gas, hospitality, convenience stores and others, reducing (or avoiding) the cost of in-store system support and maintenance while maintaining compliance with PCI and other requirements has become a strategic challenge.
Speaker: Dr. Chenxi Wang, Principal Analyst, Security and Risk Management, Forrester Research, Inc. As Enterprises are increasingly connected to the Internet and as hard organizational boundaries are fast disappearing, security professionals are facing fresh challenges in Enterprise computing.
This tutorial is for new MindManager users and teaches you how to get started, by creating maps, reading maps and organizing your information.
Talkback
emails from:
7 Dec 05 21:36 Replypost@cia.com
office@FBI.com
mail@cia.com
i have an im from a guy in another state asking me to colect money from people who can come to my door, who do i contact?
17 May 06 05:48 ReplyWATCH OUT FOR LETTER/WITH CASHIERS CHECK FROM GATENET. SAYING YOU WON A LOTTO. ITS A FRAUD. JUST TO LET YOU KNOW.
3 Jun 06 23:27 Reply