Nice Try, Email Scammers, But I Haven’t Violated Any Federal Laws

If you get an email, claiming you violated a federal law and have a pending court case, don't click on the link. It's a scam.

I found this email about a week ago, that urged me to review an attached document, that would explain the federal charges against me. It surprised me for a couple of reasons.

1. I haven't (to my knowledge) broken any laws, especially any federal laws. I mean, I may have driven a little too fast on my way home one day, recently, but it's hardly worth a summons in federal court.
2. I can't believe they think I'm so naive as to click on a link in an unsolicited email.

The scary thing is, not everyone will see it this way. There will be people who will buy into the ploy and click the link. Or will try it out, just to satisfy their own curiosity. But you know what they say about curiosity, right? It gets a virus downloaded to your computer. (You thought I was going to mention a cat? There's no cat in this story. Keep up)

Okay, all kidding aside. According to the Federal United States Courts website, this is a scam, and clicking the enclosed link will send a malicious virus into your computer. The best course of action is simply to delete it from your email account, altogether. US Courts says, unless you actually have a court case pending against you and have agreed to get messages electronically, you generally will not be served documents via email.

If you're still in doubt about whether it's real, contact your nearest federal courthouse and ask.