For Immediate Release
September 15,
2005
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Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691
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FBI
ANNOUNCES TIP LINE TO COMBAT PUBLIC CORRUPTION & GOVERNMENT FRAUD
Washington, D.C. -- Today the FBI launched
a tip line, 1-800-CALL FBI or 1-800-225-5324 , to collect
information and complaints of public corruption and government fraud, in
connection with the Hurricane Katrina aftermath. Information related to these
matters can be provided toll-free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These
lines will be manned by FBI personnel and the information collected will
be analyzed, investigated, and shared with our state, local, and federal
law enforcement personnel.
Assistant Director Chris Swecker, FBI Criminal
Investigative Division, stressed that these crimes would not be tolerated
as, "We have a responsibility to ensure that government relief efforts
are not undermined by unscrupulous individuals. It is very unfortunate that
natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, while bringing out the best
in most people also draw out criminal elements who would take advantage of
the federal government's relief efforts."
The FBI has taken a proactive and preventative
stance on this matter and will ensure that the criminals who perpetrate these
crimes are brought to justice. To clarify the types of crimes that this tip
line will focus on Public Corruption is criminal acts, where it is alleged
that either a public official (elected, appointed, or under contract), and/or
a private individual, has or is engaged in a corrupt scheme that involves
either a direct or indirect abuse of the public official's trust and/or undermines
the integrity of federal, state or local governmental operations, in violation
of federal law. In addition, Assistant Director Swecker stressed that "calls
to this tip line should be limited to fraud activity and corruption by businesses
or persons engaged in purported contract fraud, procurement or purchasing
fraud, and/or fraud of federally funded programs ."
Other Hurricane Katrina fraud, to include online
scams such as spamming unsolicited donation requests or spoofing legitimate
charity websites should continue to be relayed to the FBI's Internet Crime
Complaint Center (IC3) or www.ic3.gov,
while identity theft complaints should be reported to the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) at www.ftc.gov or to the FTC's toll-free
ID theft hotline, 1-877-ID-THEFT.
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