Fake FBI Scammed Suburban Couple Out Of Thousands Of Dollars

ROLLING MEADOWS, IL — The FBI has issued a warning to the public not to fall for a scam that begins with an official-looking email threatening prosecution.

An elderly north suburban couple was recently defrauded out of thousands of dollars after receiving such an email, according to the FBI.

On Tuesday, the FBI's Chicago field office released a copy of the scam email with the subject line saying, "You have been Spotted," which contained an FBI logo and a return address to the bureau's former Rolling Meadows office.

"We have detected by our monitoring network tracking system that you and your wife are involved in money laundering and financing Terror in different part of the world which is a Crime," the email said.

After listing a couple of fictitious charges, the email demanded that the addressee reply within 24 hours to avoid being prosecuted. It also demanded the addressee not speak to any person or bank regarding the email and claimed to have "placed an email track" on other addresses.

FBI Special Agent Garret Croon said once the recipients of these emails reply, it begins a conversation which eventually leads to a request for money.

"The FBI will not send you an emails stating that we are charging you with a crime, and we're certainly not going to ask you for money," Croon said.

He recommended that anyone who is contacted by someone purporting to be from the FBI call up the main switchboard and ask if that person actually works there and to be directed to their telephone number.

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center allows the public to file complaints, report suspicious emails and other online crimes.