The e-mail goes on to request that you provide your name, address, telephone number and account number.
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” said John Mahan, assistant attorney general for the FSM Department of Justice.
The Banking Board, the Financial Intelligence Unit of the National Police and the DOJ, have observed a recent increase in e-mail criminal activity targeting the FSM.
The goal of these criminals is to get sufficient personal information about an individual to steal their money.
This increase in activity may have been triggered by the concurrent increase in wire transfer offices opening up shop in FSM, offices such as Western Union and Moneygram.
It is possible that as a result of more frequent money transfers in and out of the FSM, a wave of interest has been stirred in these criminals.
The Financial Intelligence Unit of the National Police recommends being aware of the following:
• spam or unsolicited e-mails,
• links in unsolicited emails,
• e-mails from people that you do not know,
• e-mails promising you money,
• e-mails requesting personal information,
• e-mails requesting financial information,
• e-mails requesting you cash a check from the sender,
• e-mails requesting donations for charitable purposes.
Unfortunately, e-mail crime is part of using the Internet. The FSM National Police recommends that if you feel you have been the victim of an e-mail crime, contact them immediately.
