The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is one of our more trusted institutions of government so people usually trust what they are told by FBI agents.  Unfortunately, too many people also trust what they are told by scammers who are merely impersonating FBI agents.  Recently there has been a large increase in scams that originate with an email purporting to be from the FBI informing the victim that they have inherited money or have won a lottery.  A good question to ask yourself at this point is why would the FBI be informing you of an inheritance or a lottery win?  The emails then direct you to another purported government agency where you run two risks.  The first risk is clicking on a link to a phony government agency that ends up with your unwittingly downloading keystroke logging malware that will steal all of the information from your computer including credit card numbers, Social Security numbers and account passwords.  The second risk is that when you go to the phony government website, you are instructed to pay various administrative fees and other fees to claim the inheritance or prize that you never get.

TIPS

Remember the FBI is not going to contact you about inheritances or lotteries.  Also, never click on links from emails, the source of which you are not absolutely sure is legitimate.  Finally, if you have any doubt, call the FBI at a number that you know is correct so that you can confirm that the email is a scam.