You have to give spammers and schemers credit for trying. They just won’t give up!
This morning, my inbox was chock full of versions of the following email, which has been making the rounds since 2010:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY,
1500 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW
WASHINGTON, DC 20220
Tel: +1-(202) 622-2000
Fax: +1-(202) 622-6415Monday, April; 23, 2012
READ INSTRUCTION
This email is to notify you about the release of your outstanding payment worth USD15, 500,000.00 only. The U.S. Department of the Treasury in collaboration with the HM Treasury has scheduled a time frame for settlement of all outstanding and compromised foreign debts which includes Contract/Inheritance/Gambling/Lottery (Sponsored by Multinational Companies) and other international approved loan request which originated from Europe, Asia and Africa. News has it that numerous individual (s) who happen to be victims from the enlisted settlements are now being compensated by the UK Government authority via numerous ways.
With the help from the Financial Services Authority in conjunction with the UK HM Treasury, we have concluded all payment arrangements and you will be paid as soon as your application is submitted for this operation. We have sent a letter of approval and payment authorization to the UK HM Treasury to commence an immediate release of your funds through Bank To Bank Transfer once your application is provided to their department for this operation Therefore, you are required to contact the Office of Rt Hon George Osborne MP through the information below for payment verification and assistance.
Rt Hon George Osborne MP
Chancellor of the Exchequer
Horse Guards Road
London SW1A 2HQ
Tel: +44 (0) 700 580 0054
Click here to contact The office of Rt Hon George Osborne MP.NB: Make sure to provide an evidence of your identification document such as a scanned copy of your drivers license or international passport for payment verification. Failure to provide this requirement for your payment will continue to nullify your chances of receiving your funds, and this fund will be confiscated and made to be forfeited under the Money Laundering and other Financial Crime Prohibition Act of 2003.
Regards,
Senior Secretary,
Foreign Assets Control.
U.S. Department of the Treasury.
============================================
Questions about this information should be directed to
The U.S. Department of the Treasury
Telephone: +1-(202) 622-2000.
The email isn’t really from the Treasury Department or from the Chancellor of the Exchequer. It’s from the Ukraine.
There is no “Money Laundering and other Financial Crime Prohibition Act of 2003.”
And, like the IRS, its boss, the Treasury Department, “does not send unsolicited requests and does not seek personal or financial information from members of the public by e-mail and recommends that recipients not respond to such messages.”
So, don’t click. And for heaven’s sake, don’t send a copy of your license or your passport.
Delete. Or you can report it to the Treasury OIG (Office of Inspector General) by using one of the following methods:
- OIG Hotline Online Complaint Form
- Email: Hotline@oig.treas.gov
- Call 1-800-359-3898 (toll-free)
Keep in mind the above contact methods are for Treasury matters that do not directly involve the IRS. Those matters should be reported to the Treasury Inspector General for Taxpayer Administration, or TIGTA, or forwarded to phishing@irs.gov.