Re: Fwd: US Department of Justice Victim Notification System

["O'Callaghan, Daniel" <Daniel.OCallaghan () SINCLAIR EDU>]

We have been getting them for a few years related to an on-going prosecution where the defendant allegedly 
stole/cracked a number of higher ed user accounts (including one of ours). They are legit, but not very helpful.  The 
victim ID and PIN are likely the same for each victim agent being notified.

___________________________________
 Daniel V. O'Callaghan, Jr., MBA, CISSP, GCFA
 Chief Information Security Officer
 Sinclair Community College
 444 W Third St, 13-000F
 Dayton, OH 45402
 937.512.2452



-----Original Message-----
From: The EDUCAUSE Security Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU] On Behalf Of Brent 
Sweeny
Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 4:05 PM
To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU
Subject: [SECURITY] Fwd: US Department of Justice Victim Notification System

is anyone else getting these sorts of USDOJ notices? they look and feel like a phish (the generic opening is very 
suspicious, the 'victim id #'
and PIN are the same in all instances of the note, the whole premise smells fishy, the references to later 
communication that so far haven't happened, etc), but the URLs and phone numbers are legit, and there's no fake 
reply-to or underlying URLs, so I can't find anything explicitly
wrong with it. even the mail headers look correct.   the note refers to
attached information, and while there's no attachment, I just assumed the information is included, not literally 
'attached.'
        thanks.  Brent Sweeny, Indiana University

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: US Department of Justice Victim Notification System
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:38:49 -0500 (EST)
From: Denielle Johnson <fedemail () vns usdoj gov>
To: Business Representative <sweeny () indiana edu>


DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL.


                                                U.S. Department of Justice
                                                Federal Bureau of Investigation
                                                FBI - New York
                                                26 Federal Plaza, 23rd Floor
                                                New York, NY 10278
                                                Phone:  (877) 236-8947
                                                Fax:
                                                
                                                
January 17, 2012

Business Representative

RE:  288A-NY-303468


Dear Business Representative:

You previously received a notification that you were identified as a potential victim of a federal crime.  Attached is 
additional information related to the case.  You will be receiving a hard-copy version of this notification and a 
personalized "Notice of Infected Computers"
attachment containing a unique passphrase to access the IP addresses affected within your network.

Please note that it may take four to eight hours for you to gain access to the Victim Notification System while our 
system is updated with additional information.

Due to the high volume of calls, we are unable to return messages or speak to individuals directly.  Please do not 
contact the New York Field Office at this time.  You will be able to obtain case status updates by calling 877-236-8947.

Current information regarding the status of your case can be found on the Internet at www.Notify.USDOJ.GOV or by 
calling the Victim Notification System (VNS) Call Center at 1-866-DOJ-4YOU (1-866-365-4968). You will need to enter 
your Victim Identification Number (VIN) 3524190 and your Personal Identification Number (PIN) 8098 anytime you contact 
the Call Center and the first time you log into VNS on the Internet.

You can also use the Call Center and the Internet to correct/update your contact information and/or change your 
decision regarding participation in the notification system. Please remember however, that the first time you access 
the VNS Internet site, you will be prompted to enter your last name (or business name) and need to enter it as 
currently contained in VNS and spelled within this letter. Your participation in this notification system is totally 
voluntary. You can choose not to participate or reactivate your access at any time.

If you have any concern regarding the validity of this letter or would like to speak with me regarding any questions 
you may have, please feel free to call me at the number listed above. When you call, so that I can assist you as 
promptly as possible, please provide me the file number listed at the top of the letter.

Sincerely,

New York Victim Assistance Program
null


If you do not want to receive email notifications from the Victim Notification System (VNS) or wish to no longer 
participate in the Department of Justice victim notification program, please log into the VNS Web site at 
https://www.notify.usdoj.gov.  To stop receiving email notifications or change your email address select My Information 
and either remove your email address or provide a new address and click the "update" button.  If you no longer wish to 
receive notifications in your case or access the VNS Web site and toll free telephone service, select Stop Receiving 
Notifications and follow the instructions on the screen.

If you believe you have received this email in error, please contact the office listed at top of the email message.

Please note, if this is the first notification you have received from VNS you will need to wait 4-8 hours from receipt 
of this email before you can login to the VNS Internet site (http://www.notify.usdoj.gov). In addition, it will also be 
4-8 hours before any documents which may have been uploaded to VNS as part of this notification will available under 
the "Documents/Links" section on the Web page.

Attachments have been referenced with this notification and are available on the VNS Internet site (or will be 
available within 8 hours).  After you log into the Web site select "Downloads/Links" to view the attachments.