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Fraud
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How to Report a Complaint about Waste, Fraud, Abuse, or Misconduct in the Department of Justice


Corporate Fraud

The President's Corporate Fraud Task Force oversees and directs the investigation and prosecution of significant financial crimes involving fraud by corporations and other business organizations. Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey, Jr. chairs the Task Force which includes the FBI Director, Assistant Attorneys General for the Criminal and Tax Divisions, and United States Attorneys from major business centers. The Task Force coordinates the Department's law enforcement and regulatory efforts in the corporate fraud area with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the United States Postal Inspection Service, each of which is also a Task Force member. The Task Force also develops policy, regulatory and legislative recommendations for the Attorney General and the President to better combat corporate fraud. For more information, including the Revised Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations, visit the Corporate Fraud Task Force web page.

Report suspected Corporate Fraud directly to FBI Headquarters via the Corporate Fraud Hotline. The toll-free telephone number, 888-622-0117, is manned by FBI analysts Monday through Friday from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. EST.

Identity Theft and Fraud

Special Report for Consumers on Identity Theft

Identity Theft: A Quiz for Consumers

Special Report for Retail Businesses on Identity Theft

Identity theft and identity fraud are crimes in which someone obtains and uses another person's personal information in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain. Visit our Web pages to find precautions you can take to protect yourself from identity theft.

To file a report about Identity Theft, please use the Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft Complaint Form.

Possible Fraud Schemes: Solicitations of Donations for Victims of Terrorist Attacks

In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, consumer groups and members of the public have reported receiving unsolicited e-mail messages, which urge people to donate money to the Red Cross or to funds for victims of the attacks and their families. Some of these e-mails are being sent by people with a sincere desire to help, and contain accurate information. Others, however, have tried to persuade people to leave valuable personal or financial data, such as credit-card numbers, at Internet Websites that do not belong to legitimate charitable organizations. In addition, some reports indicate that telemarketers operating fraudulent "sweepstakes" or magazine-subscription schemes may be falsely promising consumers that a portion of their money will be provided to the disaster recovery efforts. Full Report


Internet Fraud

In general, the same types of fraud schemes that have victimized consumers and investors for many years before the proliferation of Internet use are now appearing online. You may find fraud schemes in chat rooms, e-mail, message boards, or on Web sites. Find more information at our internet fraud site, where you can also find tips on dealing with internet fraud.

"Phishing" is a general term for criminals’ creation and use of e-mails and websites – designed to look like e-mails and websites of well-known legitimate businesses, financial institutions, and government agencies – in order to deceive Internet users into disclosing their bank and financial account information or other personal data such as usernames and passwords. The "phishers" then take that information and use it for criminal purposes, such as identity theft and fraud. For more information, see the Special Report on "Phishing"

You can report Internet Fraud at the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

To find out about other types of computer crime and cybercrime legal and policy issues, see the Cybercrime web site.

Telemarketing Fraud

Fraudulent telemarketers typically use false and misleading statements, representations, and promises when offering you goods and services, investments, or asking you to donate funds to charitable causes. To learn more about how you can avoid becoming a victim of telephone marketing fraud, visit our telemarketing fraud site, English or Spanish.

See the FBI's Telemarketing Fraud page for additional telemarketing fraud prevention tips.

Mortgage Scams

Are you having trouble making your home mortgage payments? Are you facing foreclosure on your home? Get all the facts before you pay someone to help you work out your mortgage problems. Check out our consumer alert on mortgage foreclosure scams.

Gather all the information you need and do comparative shopping when you need a mortgage. Looking for the Best Mortgage? A Consumer Information Brochure will guide you on what you need to know when obtaining a mortgage.

Fraud Victims Publications and Consumer Web Sites

Consumer information links that help consumers locate information that may be useful to them and provide guidance in how to file complaints when appropriate.

A collection of publications on the Justice Information Center's fraud victims page.

For more information about the Department components that are most active in this area, consult the Criminal Division Fraud Section, Civil Division Office of Consumer Litigation and Federal Bureau of Investigation web sites.

Additional information about fraud can be found on other Federal Government websites, including the Federal Citizen Information Center Scams and Frauds page and Firstgov's Consumer Information page at www.consumer.gov.

 

  Last Updated: 03/10/04

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