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Report Spam

Many consumers receive a variety of unsolicited commercial email (also known as "spam") in their offices or at home. While people don't always like getting spam, much of it has a legitimate business purpose. Unsolicited emails, however, are often the initial means for criminals, such as operators of fraudulent schemes, to contact and solicit prospective victims for money, or to commit identity theft by deceiving them into sharing bank and financial account information.

The following information, email addresses and contacts noted below are provided for your reference if you have received a particular type of unsolicited email and would like to report or forward it on to law enforcement authorities.

Africa-Based Investment Schemes

An increasing volume of spam consists of email from a person who represents himself or herself as having some African affiliation, and who is soliciting you to help him or her transfer illegally obtained or questionable funds out of a nation in Africa. (Some more recent emails purport to involve moving money out of Afghanistan.) These solicitations are fraudulent, and may violate one or more federal criminal laws.
  • Do not send any money or financial account information if you receive one of these emails (or a letter or fax of a similar nature).
  • If you have responded to one of these online solicitations and have lost money, please contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center, a joint venture of the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center, and use the ICCC's online complaint form.

Medical Products and Devices

To report email that involves possibly fraudulent claims about medical devices or products (for example, so-called "miracle" cures) please email the Food and Drug Administration at webcomplaints@ora.fda.gov.

Financial Investments

Report investment-related spam emails to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission using the SEC Tips, Complaints and Referrals Portal

General

If you want to report other possible online crime, including online fraud (for example, "get-rich-quick" schemes or online auction fraud) whether or not you have lost money, please use the ICCC's online complaint form.

Other Types of Unsolicited Commercial Email

For more information about reporting unsolicited email that does not fall into any of the above categories, see the Federal Trade Commission's Report Fraud page.

To file a complaint about a violation of the National Do Not Call Registry or to register your telephone number on the Registry, please go to www.donotcall.gov.

Fact Sheets from the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA):

Updated March 7, 2023