Scammers Call You? You Call Us: FBI

The crooks targeting commercial collectors aren’t doing anything particularly new with their scam though the latest version might be a little craftier this time around.

A spokesperson for the FBI said that the advance fee scam first became known several years ago as the 419, because it referred to a statute in the criminal code of Nigeria, the country where some believe the scam originated.

The FBI is encouraging firms that have been hit with the scam to contact their local FBI office, and consider joining the Infraguard program. Infraguard.net is a public, private partnership with businesses, academics and others sharing information with federal, state and local law enforcement authorities. It has nearly 25,000 members. Contact information for the FBI's 56 local offices that can be found on its Web site.

“We get complaints, package them with other complaints, and look for a pattern,” said Paul Bresson, an FBI spokesperson.

The new scam is closer to an advance fee con. In the scam, the crooks are both the client and the debtor, and use relatively sophisticated telecommunications gear, false fronts and documentation to make both parties appear legitimate.

The client hires the agency, the agency contacts the debtor, and the debtor sends a check to the agency. The agency deposits the check that appears to be good, takes its fee, and sends the rest to the client, with the backing of its own funds. The client/crook cashes that check, but in a few weeks the agency’s bank determines the debtor’s check is a fraud, and the agency is out the money it sent the client.

Several firms that have foiled the scam have told insideARM that the crooks provide some paper work on contracts that appear legitimate. In addition, the check may have been stolen from the bank that it is alleged to be drawn on, giving the deal a further air of legitimacy ("Agencies Fighting Back Against Advance-Fee Fraudsters," May 7). The hiring is done online through the collector’s Web site, and there typically are a few cell phone calls with the crook that sound as if he may be over seas.

“This sounds more creative,” than the 419 which would guarantee money to the victim if he helped move money around, said Bresson. “These scams evolve over time.”

Bresson notes that the growth of the Internet has given crooks a bigger world to work in and more potential victims to prey on. The FBI is also a funder of the www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com Web site with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.