DHS.ORG? Homeland Security?

Ok... so why would Homeland security be taking care of something like this? Its something the FBI takes care of. Homeland Security basically takes care of immigration, and airline security, and blah blah. Anyway... got this email today.

Subject: US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
From: "US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY" -dhs@dhs.org- (Um... dhs.org is a domain name provider or something like that. If it was really homeland security, it would be dhs.GOV)
To: undisclosed-recipients (They wouldn't be contacting multiple people for an individuals problem.)

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Washington, DC 20528
US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Attn: Beneficiary, (I'd imagine they would know our name. Most importantly, they know how to find you personally.)
This is to Officially inform you that it has come to our notice and we have thoroughly completed an Investigated with the help of our Intelligence Monitoring Network System that you are having an illegal transaction with Impostors claiming to be Prof. Charles C. Soludo former Governor Central Bank Of Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Aziza, Mr. Frank Nweke, none officials of Oceanic Bank, none officials of Zenith Bank and some impostors claiming to be the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents. (What a way to have a run on sentence... I highly doubt there would be any mistakes like this. I mean, it IS suppose to be coming from our government.) During our Investigation, it came to our notice that the reason why you have not received your payment is because you have not fulfilled your Financial Obligation given to you in respect of your Contract/Inheritance Payment.
So therefore, we have contacted the Federal Ministry Of Finance on your behalf and they have brought a solution to your problem by coordinating your payment in the total amount of US$800,000.00 (Should read: total amount of $800,000.00 USD. That's how I normally see things on government forms that are for international use.) which will be deposited into an ATM CARD (Ok... so why would it be given to an ATM card only? Normally the government sends paper checks.) which you will use to withdraw funds anywhere of the world. You now have the lawful right to claim your funds which have been deposited into the ATM CARD.
Since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been involved in this transaction, you are now to be rest assured that this transaction is legitimate and completely risk-free as it is our duty to Protect and Serve citizens of the United States Of America. (You definately shouldn't need the reassurance note. And it shouldn't even be mentioned at all!) All you have to do is immediately contact the ATM CARD CENTER via E-mail for instructions on how to procure your Approval Slip which contains details on how to receive and activate your ATM CARD for immediate use to withdraw funds being paid to you. (There should be a number listed as well. E-mail is not the only option you have. Remember to check the site for contact numbers and such. Homeland Security in Washington has two numbers listed on their site at http://www.dhs.gov/)
The total amount for everything is US$300.00 (Three Hundred US Dollars). (What??? Now you have to pay? Yeah... the government sends a real statement in the mail with a bill. And they certainly would seize your accounts and income to get their money if you don't pay up.) We have tried our possible best to indicate that this US$300.00 should be deducted from your funds, but we found out that the funds have already been deposited in an ATM CARD and cannot be accessed by anyone apart from you the beneficiary which the PIN would be released to. (Gotta love the mumbo-jumbo they scrape up when trying to grasp for words to make things a little more longer.) Therefore you will be required to pay the required fee to the Agent in-charge of this transaction via Western Union Money Transfer or Money Gram International Transfer. (That alone should scream scam. Like I said, real government business would be sent to your mailing address and in a statement/bill form. You pay by check, you can contact a number listed and allow them to do it electronically, or you can simply log online to make your payment. The ability to pay online may vary based on department and such.)
In order to proceed with this transaction, you will be required to contact the agent in-charge ( Mr. MORGAN JAMES) via e-mail. Kindly look below to find appropriate contact information:
CONTACT INFORMATION
NAME: MR. MORGAN JAMES (No department title or anything?)
EMAIL: mrgnjames8@gmail.com (Real agents have an @blahblah.gov email. They have no need to contact you through yahoo.com, gmail.com, or any other e-mail provider. Unless its under cover work, but you wouldn't know if it was or not.)
Immediately contact Mr. MORGAN JAMES of the ATM Card Center with the following information:
Full Name: The government knows who you are...
Address: They know where you live, granted you are updating it like you are suppose to.
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Direct Telephone Number: Official mail comes in a good old fashion envelope and mailbox.
Current Occupation: Why should your occupation be important?
Once you have sent the required information to Mr. MORGAN JAMES he will contact you with instructions on how to make the payment of US$300.00 for the Approval Slip after which he will proceed towards delivery of the ATM CARD without any further delay. You have hereby been authorized/guaranteed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to commence towards completing this transaction, as there shall be NO delay once payment for the Approval Slip has been made to the authorized agent.
This letter will serve as proof that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is authorizing you to pay the required US$300.00 ONLY to Mr. MORGAN JAMES via information in which he shall send to you, if you do not receive your ATM CARD containing your funds in amount of US$800,000.00 we shall be held responsible for the loss and this shall invite a penalty of $3,000.00USD which will be made PAYABLE ONLY to you (The Beneficiary).
Once you have completed payment of US$300.00 to the agent in charge of this transaction, immediately contact me back so as to ensure your ATM CARD gets to you rapidly. (Why should there be any need what-so-ever to contact more people if it was already rest assured that I would receive the money that was mentioned?)
Mr. Michael Heimbach
Special Agent DHS.
Note: Do disregard any email you get from any impostor or office claiming to be in possession of your ATM CARD, you are advised only to be in contact with Mr. MORGAN JAMES of the ATM CARD CENTER who is the rightful person you are suppose to deal with in regards your ATM CARD PAYMENT and forward any email you get from any impostors to this office so we could act upon and commence investigation. (Shouldn't be receiving any other emails granted this is secure and private information...)

Yeah... seriously. Read all emails in full and do your research. The only time you are asked for personal information is when you are filing claims and making the point to contact them yourself. Its how they identify who you are.
You can visit the official FBI website at http://www.fbi.gov/. They also have a site that lists several internet crimes and such at http://www.ic3.gov/. You can also visit http://www.ic3.gov/crimeschemes.aspx for a list of different crime schemes.

Stay safe!

Haiti 2010 Devistation: 7.0 Earthquake

For donations, I recommend that you go directly through to American Red Cross or other reputable organizations and companies. Below is a list I have checked for you, but you are welcome to double check. Its always the safest way. :)

1. American Red Cross
2. Sprint PCS - Text message donations
3. T-Mobile - Text message donations
4. Verizon Wireless - Text message donations (Same as T-Mobile's text number)
5. Former President Bill Clinton - Clinton Foundation
6. UNICEF
7. The Salvation Army
8. Habitat for Humanity

You can find more charities in this article: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/haiti-earthquake-help-victims/story?id=9547030&page=1

PLEASE BE CAREFUL FOR SCAMS! They will not ask for money sent to Western Union...
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/186887/fbi_warns_of_bogus_haiti_online_donation_scams.html
I highly suggest reading that article! Going through donations from emails or phone services could be a scam. Be very careful about where you send your donations. If sending a check by mail, I suggest that you run a Google Earth search on the address to make sure that it is going where you expect it to. Its sad to know there are internet scams, and I really don't want you to fall victim to them.

Your donation will go a long way for the families in Haiti regardless of the amount.

Western Union

I was too slow for this one. It was a Western Union email explaining that "my account" had been limited. I find this funny to receive this after I sent some money out through Western Union.
Anyway... they asked for all my log in details and blah blah. Same old same old. You know how emails usually have the sender's name and then the email? Well, these scams usually use the real companies name as the main contact, which is usually what brings in the people. So rather "Mrs. Smith "... you will see "credit@westernunion.com " But sometimes even this email can be masked. Either way, this is a crappy set up. The whole email is an image. Once you get it loaded, the whole body is clickable.
After proceeding to click, I was brought to a crappy page. It looked legit, but it was definitely not. The URL was total gobbledygook. None of the buttons on the top were clickable, and the buttons below the user and password area, the buttons work. Basically, this person used the simplest of HTML or something. But yeah... I entered a bunch of random letters and it accepted them... so yeah...
Like I said, I was little late to get to the next step in regards to the account. Was removed pretty quickly, which is very good.
If its in spam, its probably there for a reason. Don't bother with it unless you are expecting something. And if you do have an account with the company the email lists, just open a new window in your browser and go to the company site and check for yourself.

Happy new year and safe net browsing!