Depending on the country you live in, you need to contact different organizations.
In most cases, with will be your local 'High Tech Crimes Unit'. In the US, there are many different agencies
that are interested in scams. You might be surprised to find the Secret Service and the US Post Office
on this list, along with the FBI and FCC, and I'l bet you've never heard of IC3??
Get your problem to the right people, quick enough and you may just help to get some of these people put away!
Scamdex Featured Resource - OnGuard Online
Anti-Scam Resources (who you gonna call?)
Leading Organizations
Federal Trade Commission
Report to the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection particular companies or organizations which engage or help assist Internet scams. While the FTC does not resolve individual consumer problems, your complaint helps them investigate fraud, and can lead to law enforcement action. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel®, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies worldwide.
For US residents, call toll-free 1-877-FTC-HELP
TTY: 1-866-653-4261
Lottery, Phishing, Advance-Fee
The US Secret Service
The Secret Service investigates crimes associated with financial institutions. Today, this jurisdiction includes bank fraud, access device fraud involving credit and debit cards, telecommunications and computer crimes, fraudulent identification, fraudulent government and commercial securities, and electronic funds transfer fraud.
To file a complaint or to get free information, visit www.secretservice.gov or call (202) 406-5708
Advance-Fee
US Postal
Inspection Service
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is the law enforcement branch of the U.S. Postal Service, empowered by federal laws and regulations to investigate and enforce over 200 federal statutes related to crimes against the U.S. Mail, the Postal Service and its employees.
Postal Inspectors investigate any crime in which the U.S. Mail is used to further a scheme, whether it originated in the mail, by telephone or on the Internet. The use of the U.S. Mail is what makes it a mail fraud issue.
I f you feel you've been victimized in a mail fraud scheme that in any way involves the U.S. Mail, submit a Mail Fraud Complaint Form to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
U.S. Department of State — The Department of State's mission is to create a more secure, democratic, and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community. As part of that mission, the Department of State seeks to minimize the impact of international crime, including cross-border internet scams, on the United States and its citizens. To get free information, visit www.state.gov.
The IFCC is a partnership between the FBI and NW3C.
IFCC's mission is to address fraud committed over the Internet. For victims of Internet fraud, IFCC provides a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of a suspected criminal or civil violation. For law enforcement and regulatory agencies at all levels, IFCC offers a central repository for complaints related to Internet fraud, works to quantify fraud patterns, and provides timely statistical data of current fraud trends.
United Kingdom
Office of Fair Trading
The United Kingdom's Office of Fair Trading is responsible for making markets work well for consumers. They protect and promote consumer interests throughout the United Kingdom, while ensuring that businesses are fair and competitive. To file a complaint or to get free information, visit www.oft.gov.uk or send an email to enquiries@oft.gsi.gov.uk.
Lottery, Phishing
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission — The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission encourages vigorous competition in the marketplace and enforces consumer protection and fair trading laws. To file a complaint or to get more information, visit www.accc.gov.au. The ACCC advocates consultation and negotiation as the first and best option to settle disputes, but once the ACCC pursues legal action any sort of mediation becomes less likely.
Lottery, Phishing
"Nigerian" Advance-Fee Scams
U.S. Secret Service — The Secret Service investigates violations of laws relating to financial crimes, including access device fraud, financial institution fraud, identity theft, and computer fraud. To file a complaint or to get free information, visit www.secretservice.gov or call 202-406-5708.
National
Consumers League
Canada's
PhoneBusters
Canada Competition Bureau The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency in Canada that investigates anti-competitive practices and promotes compliance with the laws under its jurisdiction. To file a complaint or to get free information, visit www.competitionbureau.gc.ca or call toll-free, 1-800-348-5358. The Bureau has the ability to refer criminal matters to the Attorney General of Canada, who then decides whether to prosecute before the courts.
Lottery, Phishing
Better
Business Bureaus
If you think you may have responded to a cross-border scam, file a complaint at www.econsumer.gov, a project of 20 countries of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network. Then visit the FTC's identity theft website at www.ftc.gov/idtheft. While you can't completely control whether you will become a victim of identity theft, you can take some steps to minimize your risk.
If you've responded to a "Nigerian" scheme, contact your local Secret Service field office using contact information from the Blue Pages of your telephone directory, or from www.secretservice.gov/field_offices.shtml.
In addition, report telemarketing fraud and check overpayment scams to your state Attorney General, using contact information at www.naag.org.
Report unsolicited email offers to spam@uce.gov — including offers inviting you to participate in a foreign lottery, looking for help getting money out of a foreign country, or asking you to wire back extra funds from a check you received.
If you receive what looks like lottery material from a foreign country through the postal mail, give it to your local postmaster.