SCAM WATCH

The pitch: The FBI Anti-Terrorist and Monetary Crimes Division has an urgent message for you.

The scam: You could be in terrible trouble. According to an e-mail from this division of the FBI, money has been transferred to your account from a suspicious, overseas source. “Secret diplomatic payments are not made unless the funds are related to terrorist activities,” the e-mail says. Indeed, these kind of transfers have “always been related to terrorist acts.” The FBI is willing to work with you, though, if a mistake has been made. All the agency needs is your bank account information.

The reality: First of all, there is no Anti-Terrorist and Monetary Crimes Division in the FBI. This recent rash of scam e-mails is an attempt to get what the FBI calls P.I.I., which stands for personally identifiable information, from the recipients. P.I.I. can be used for identity theft.

The threat: The anti-terrorist e-mail is just one of several recent scams that invoke the FBI in an attempt to make them seem legitimate. Others take the well-known paths of saying the recipient has been given a huge inheritance or has won a lottery -- all that’s needed to claim the funds is some P.I.I. In some cases, the e-mails say they come directly from an FBI deputy director.

Info: The FBI lists current warnings about scams at www.fbi.gov/cyberinvest/escams.htm.

-- David Colker