WASHINGTON - The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) is warning both the Army community and the public about a new Internet phishing scam where criminals are attempting to pose as Army CID officials.
Cyber-criminals are attempting to impersonate members of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command via email, stating that they are from the "Office of the Division of Criminal Investigation, or DCI," when no such organization exists within Army CID.
In the email, the perpetrators state that they have discovered fraudulent activities with a company that the targeted victim had contact with. The cyber-criminals then ask the potential victim to acknowledge the email and provide financial and personal information.
According to CID special agents, these phishing and/or spear-phishing emails originate from overseas, most likely Western Africa, which is home to a number of well-known Internet scams such as the "Nigerian Scam," "Foreign Lottery Scam" and the "Romance Scam" that continue to plague the public.
Most email scam attempts are easily recognizable as they are usually unsolicited, contain misspelled words, punctuation and grammatical errors, and often ask for personally identifiable and/or financial information or for money.
Cyber-crime and Internet fraud presents unique challenges to U.S. law enforcement agencies as criminals have the ability to mask their true identities, locations and cover their tracks quickly. Websites and accounts can easily be established and deleted in very little time, allowing scam artists to strike, and then disappear before law enforcement can respond.
The ability of law enforcement to identify these perpetrators is very limited, so individuals must stay on the alert and be personally responsible to protect both themselves and their loved ones, officials said.
CID strongly recommends that Soldiers, civilians and family members who receive any suspicious and/or unsolicited emails should delete them immediately without response.
However, if an email is received claiming to be from the Office of the Division of Criminal Investigation, or DCI, take the following steps:
- Do not respond to the email
- Stop all contact if you have responded to the email and report it to CID.
- Report having received the email to Army CID's "Report a Crime" email at usarmy.belvoir.usacidc.mail.crime-tips@mail.mil.
Other cyber-crime resources available are:
- Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
- Federal Trade Commission: spam@uce.gov
By reporting this crime one can assist CID and other law enforcement officials across the United States in their investigations and help bring those responsible to justice.
CID Lookout is a U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, or USACIDC, initiative to partner with the Army community by providing a conduit for members of the Army family, to help prevent, reduce and report felony-level crime.
The USACIDC, commonly known as CID, is an independent criminal investigative organization that investigates serious, felony-level crime such as murder, rape, sexual assault, robbery, arson, fraud, and even cyber crime or intrusions into the Army networks (see CID Cyber Lookout).
Solving and preventing these types of crime cannot be achieved solely by CID special agents and the military police. Together, professional law enforcement officers and the Army community must work hand-in-hand to fight serious crime. As such, CID is "on point" for the Army and depends heavily on Soldiers, family members and civilian employees to "be on the lookout" and provide assistance in keeping the Army strong and safe.
CID Lookout provides the latest information to the Army community aimed at helping Soldiers protect themselves, their families and to reduce their chances of becoming crime victims.
For more information on CID or to report a felony-level crime or provide information concerning a crime, contact the local CID Office or the military police, or visit www.cid.army.mil.