You know how to spot emails that are phishing for information from you and you can identify emails that contain spam. You also know not to open attachments in emails from senders whose identities are suspect or unknown.

But what do you do if you want to file a complaint? Who do you contact? What agencies are out there to investigate these criminal activities and how much information do you provide?

The first place you should contact is the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).

IC3 is the hub between those agencies and can receive complaints about not only criminal activity pertaining to false or fraudulent email but also to the whole umbrella of cyber crime. IC3 will receive the complaints, review and evaluate the complaints and if needed refer the complaints to other agencies.

IC3 also functions as a hub for email and Internet complaints for federal, state, local and international agencies. It is a central referral mechanism for them.

You do not need to be the person who has actually been the recipient of the false or fraudulent email to be the person actually filing the complaint. As someone who has information about the fraudulent email use or just an innocent third party observer you can still file a complaint.

Information that you will be asked to provide include your contact information such as: your name, mailing address and telephone number. You will also be asked to provide the name, address, email address, telephone number, and Web address, if available, of the individual or organization you believe defrauded you.

Also required are specific details on how, why, and when you believe you were defrauded and any other relevant information you believe is necessary to support your complaint.

After the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has thoroughly reviewed and evaluated  your complaint they may decide to refer it to an appropriate federal, state, local, or international law enforcement or regulatory agency. Every complaint that is referred is sent to one or more law enforcement or regulatory agencies that have jurisdiction over the matter. More than likely it will be assigned to an investigator who will contact you if more information is needed. However, the IC3 does not guarantee that your complaint will be investigated.

You may file complaints involving one or more components of the Internet, such as websites, chat rooms, and/or email. Internet crime involves the use of the Internet to communicate false or fraudulent representations to consumers which may include crimes, but are not limited to, advance-fee schemes, non-delivery of goods or services, computer hacking, or employment/business opportunity schemes.

So the next time you receive false or fraudulent email contact the IC3 and report the crime.