Just rec'd an e-mail to buy child porn photos - What do I do?

Delete it or report it - if so to whom? And please, no smart-ass remarks as I consider this to be a serious issue.

That picture is a RIOT!

:rofl:

:P

Member of NAMBLA?

idiot.

that

is

all.

(Using children for sex is a crime. You may want to take pedophilia threads over there ----------------->)

You need to report it.

You should delete it. It was probably from a law enforcement officer anyway.

I'd just delete it and assume it was SPAM.

email to someone who is a computer expert with that agency so that they can track it back to whomever is sending the email.

Please call your local police agency and ask to whom to report this -- FBI?

:(

You could get busted for that.

They will not discern the difference between you as a perp or you as a good citizen.

are guilty of something if you are reporting it to an authority?

If I was guilty of some child-port activity, the last person I would want poking around my PC was a LE officer.

Someone could be using your computer as a zombie sending OUT these messages. Have you thought of that? And there's even more possibilities too. The thing to do is to delete it and check your computer for worms and viruses.

and it would seem to me that contact with the LE authorities to report it would remove you from their list of suspects.

shows where is originated then they will request a copy of the email. I presumed that they would ask you to forward it to them, but they could also come to your computer and copy it to a disc to save as evidence. I understand your concern and understand that it is probably very wise to refuse to forward it - make law enforcement come get a copy that shows you were a recipient of spam and never, ever forwarded it.

Supreme Court Okays Child Porn Law
By Jason Lee Miller - Thu, 05/22/2008 - 3:21pm.

Dismisses freedom of speech concerns

If you know someone with a sick sense of humor, tell them not to joke about child porn. A benign "rickroll" could get them arrested and prosecuted for pandering to pedophiles, whether or not the link actually leads to child pornography.

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/05/22/supreme-court-okays-child-porn-law

Maybe print a copy to snail mail (but is that still distribution?) and then delete it , then erase with Eraser, then burn the hard drive and run over it with a steamroller.

Mandatory 5 years.

obviously, if you truly believe it to be legit, then reporting it is the right thing to do.

Although, you do risk someone asking how it was that you came to be on such an email list since those folks dont generally just blast out emails to anyone.

Supreme Court Okays Child Porn Law
By Jason Lee Miller - Thu, 05/22/2008 - 3:21pm.

Dismisses freedom of speech concerns

If you know someone with a sick sense of humor, tell them not to joke about child porn. A benign "rickroll" could get them arrested and prosecuted for pandering to pedophiles, whether or not the link actually leads to child pornography.

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/05/22/supreme-court-okays-child-porn-law

Don't hesitate (unless you have something else to hide).

I almost can't believe I would recommend calling either one of those outfits, but that is what I think you should do.

I did this for months when I had AOL. I filled out a form and forwarded every objectionable e-mail to their spam HQ. I wrote AOL e-mails at least once a month and demanded that they stop spamming me with porn and they replied that there was only "so much" they could do. Now I'm on earthlink and I rarely, rarely (maybe twice a year) get porn spam. I don't know how it is on other services, all I know is that AOL couldn't (or wouldn't) stop it and earthlink does.

they may want to see your harddrive though, so make sure it can pass the white glove test :)

Was it spam or from a familiar e-mail address?

I'd lean towards reporting it, but the authorities will probably start going through your history of websites visited and e-mail correspondence.

we can't take a chance to assume anything about it. Anything to do with child porn, whether it's a false alarm or not must be investigated.

Include a note letting them know you received this and are reporting it as a crime.

Report it, but I'm guessing the feds sent it to you.

Ignore it or respond in any way, and you could go to jail.

Report it and you'll be subject to an extensive search with probable cause.

Screen snapshot: This now-defunct site is reportedly where an FBI undercover agent posted hyperlinks purporting to be illegal videos. Clicking the links brought a raid from the Feds.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-9899151-38.html

All they need do is send a bunch of email with kiddie porn attached.

It's spam. Remember spam?

I got an offer to enlarge my penis today. I'm considering it.

Child porn is a very serious damaging form of abuse and must be taken very seriously. We can't take any chances and assume it's soam.

Enjoy the consequences....

(Do these people have any idea of what they're playing with, all this talk to taking it to the cops and/or the FBI?)

With the powers LEOs have today, anything that makes one stand out, like say, having something about child porn on your computer, benign or not, will result in a lot more than a "Thank you ma'm, we'll look into it for ya". The typical LEO will be immediately suspicious and will no doubt wonder why this person in particular is getting these emails, why they didn't just delete it, and why they are so vocally against it (the squeaky types usually having something to hide).

Come to think of it, maybe the OP should report it, after purchasing something off the web site, of course, just to collect enough evidence to prosecute the perps.... not to look at themselves.... ummmmm....

:evilfrown:

know what the concequences of child sexual abuse really are.

I do.

Yeah, it might make a hassle for the OP- but if people weren't willing to stick their neck out and do the RIGHT thing- this world would have ended long ago. "let someone else do it- I don't want to get involved".



I salute those who advocate doing the responsible thing- even when it isn't "comfortable".
It can mean the difference between life and death.

peace~

that an email - which you've not seen - is real.

That's not how I think, but you're certainly free to leap and bound towards your erroneous assumptions.

than 'specious' but rather selfish- that there is nothing to it- and even if there was it isn't worth the hassle.
"erroneous assumptions"- how do YOU know? Did YOU send the e-mail? Did YOU recieve it?

You have every right to your opinion. In the event that the offer is GENUINE the OP has an opportunity to be of help to a child who is being used for the twisted needs of others.

I can't expect you to understand. I hope you never really do.

peace~

that you see the email in question, I'd be very interested in seeing it. Until then, you're standing on ground that's not there.

I do expect you to understand. I think more of my fellow humans than you, and I have faith that you'll be able to grasp a concept as simple as having to know something before you expound on it.

Peace and love ................

you mean to say when you state:

"I think more of my fellow humans than you"?

Perhaps you are truly naieve. I know CSA.

If the e-mail is just a scam, what is wrong with exposing it? If it is genuine what is wrong with trying to stop it-
The possibility that it is 'for real' is there. If it is someone just trying to get money, that is worth stopping.
If it is a "sting" as some seem afraid it is, then it would only be a problem if you were someone wanting to buy some kiddie porn.
In that case- you've got some bigger problems -

peace~

someone wanting to buy some kiddie porn."

Well, I'm glad you can find a way to trust our law enforcement agencies. I wouldn't want to touch them with a ten foot pole. If there are any links to CP in the email, then they can quite happily arrest you for possession of CP. Think I'm joking? Did you see that operation set up by the fed where simply clicking on ONE link could merit a raid?

OP, I suggest that you don't think about it any more than you would any other spam. Don't open it, put it in the spam folder, delete it, and move on.

.

I DON'T KNOW if it's real. But if there is even a remote chance that it IS real, kids are being harmed and something must be done to save them. I don't understand your logic.

But, it's an email. Just an email. Your assumption that it's child abuse is so far out of my park, I can't quite respond to it in any sort of relevant way, so I'll just thank you for your response.

Email is not always just email. If someone sends me an email offering child porn, I will contact the FBI immediately. If it's a fake or sting, so be it. If it's real, that means children are being victimized and it has to be stopped. Very simple logic, and I'm not taking chances where there's even a remote chance that kids could be in danger.

Disgusting.

Whatever you decide to do, assume your ISP already knows you received that email. Don't assume that if you just delete it no one will ever know.

I honestly don't know what I would do. A lot would depend upon the email itself and my analysis of how genuine it is. I have gotten a lot of email over the years advertising all kinds of nonsense I could not take seriously, but if the sender of that email is really peddling such a thing they need to be stopped. If you report it the local police are likely sufficient, unless you live in Mayberry. They can either handle it or will know who should.

thank you for such a well reasoned reply.

peace~

send it to the FBI.

I hate those people. They make me so angry!

child abusers or unethical and probably illegal infingements on your Constitutional rights by agents manipulating an obviously sensitive issue for the sheer reason of stretching their reach of power over our everyday lives?

Both are beneath contempt to me!

Or fix a way for you to send posts here from prison, because your likely fate will be instructive in how electronic crackdowns on "child porn" are actually wide-net random entrapment expeditions begging suckers to step forward with a sign that reads, "prosecute me, ruin me, sentence me to a dozen years and force me to go door to door telling neighbors I am a pervert, for I have no rights."

- so I did.

We're all going to die!

And you're going to die from bad prison food.

Some here will tell on you for not telling.

Receiving it* on your machine = felony possession.

Deleting it from your machine = destruction of evidence in a federal felony case.

---
* And with the upside down logic usually involved, who says "it" has to be an actual photo? A solicitation or a few graphic words may soon do.

It's a clusterfuck to be sure...but the system is gamed so that anything but reporting it is a crime and reporting it is an invitation to rip your life apart.

Personally, I'd choose the second but I have nothing to hide.

Some people have suggested that you ignore and delete it. NO! We are talking about kids being horribly abused and it must be stopped. Send it to law enforcement and no one else. There is no reason for the FBI to assume that you're a willing participant in it, especially if you report it to them ASAP. Follow-up the email with a call or letter (with full header details in the offending email) to the FBI.

There is no presumption of innocence in the world I live in and simply bringing something like this to the attention of the authorities is, in my opinion, beyond stupid. The fascists are in charge and our only defense is to keep an extremely low profile.

I too am of the opinion that this may very well be a gubmint fishing expedition and all they need these days is a specious excuse to seize your computer, house, car and anything else they want to confiscate as "evidence" - and the current laws say they never have to give those things back.

Let the thought police troll the web and open hundreds of email accounts under their own names so they can address child pornographers direct and in person.

Kids depend on us adults to keep them safe. Far too often, as a society, we have failed them.

A child porn spam may or may not be real, or it may be a virus, or a sting. As long as there is a remote possibility that children are being harmed, the FBI needs to check into it. I'll take my chances with law enforcement ... in the few occasions I've had to interact with them, I've never had problems, and have been grateful they were there to help me.

It's stunning to see so many responses in this thread suggesting that we do NOTHING.

You are correct, it is a very serious issue.

Any email that purported to be child porn should be reported as junk mail and deleted. Why would a person do anything but put a block on the address and report it as unsolicited SPAM?

I would suggest that the FBI is already looking for and finding the real child pornographers, and would know about this kind of mass solicitation long before it gets sent to your average person. The ISP probably has some kind of search program for the reported SPAM and assumedly many customers would report the solicitation as SPAM or worse.

Report it as SPAM to your ISP and delete it. That's the reasonable response.

I would start with local police. If they are not the correct choice, I am sure they can advise you.

You will sleep better for having taken some action!!!!!!

Most solicitations for child porn are either models who really are of legal age (but who look young) or are sting operations being run by law enforcement. In either case, simply deleting the message makes the problem go away.

As was said upthread, you report this to the police and you have no idea where it will go.

Place a call to your local FBI office and ask to speak to the agent in charge or an available agent.

Ask them to advise you via email or writing of what to do.

Even if it is spam they will advise. Ignore the gubbament is coming to get you idiots.

It may be nothing but it would just take a bit of your time to follow up on.

Hahaha... I doubt real child pornographers send out links to e-commerce sites at random to random people.

As much as it may make a hassle for you- you obviously know this is bad stuff. The chance of helping get a kid out of a bad situation is well worth the effort. Deleteing it would only be a kind of 'denial'- Silence is a kind of approval.

Thank you for caring enough to even ask. I wish you well.

peace~
blu

entrap. Anyone trying to peddle this kind of thing would never just send it out to an arbitrary person. They aren't that dumb. I'd just delete it.

want to track the sender down.

You don't just randomly get those emails unless someone got your personal digital info. associated with the mailing list. So thoroughly looking through your history folders for recent activity might shed some light on this, as well as looking through your cookies since anyone can click delete history but less people think about the digital signatures left by cookies.

If nobody has been looking at anything wierd on your computer, you can safely assume it's a sting.

Either case, delete it and if you want to feel better about doing something about child sex abuse, donate some money to a worthy organization.

edited for clarity

don't delete it and assume you've done nothing wrong- there is now a record of it on your computer.

computer to pieces! Ack!

That's what you're supposed to do with those Nigerian scams, too. Chances are the FBI will just delete it, but ya never know. The local guys may actually do something with it.

NYS AG Cuomo will have asses jailed in hours if you alert to him...

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

trained specifically for these things . . . even small departments.

you should block that address using your anti-spam features through your AV suite or ISP, or both. I'm assuming there wasn't an actual illegal image attached to it, if there was, time to lawyer up.

I have to admit that is a bit funny. :)

for internet complaints. Then you can probably forward the email to them once they talk to you on the phone.

they have a task-force for this very purpose.

for possession and distribution if there are any links in the email (These links don't even have to actually lead to CP, just say that they do). I wouldn't recommend opening it to find out. That's about 9 years in the pen.

It seems we have some folks with very sick humor here. Child porn is NOT funny.

Or maybe they're just members of NAMBLA.

Disgusting.

i wouldn't know if i got something like that because i look at who sent the email and go through and delete/report as spam all unknown email addresses.

sorry you're in the middle (although i read on the thread that you did delete it.) i wouldn't know what to tell you.

When I received an email from someone pretending to be the FBI, "investigating" my bank account, and asking for access info. I contacted the real FBI to find out where to forward it. They had a form on their site.

I got this response.:


You may forward scam emails to spam@uce.gov.

Sorry, it's the best I can do.

It's just spam (or a sting operation). Reporting it will only raise suspicions about you, unwarranted though they may be. Let the cops do their own work.

So if the Feebs have or invent some other reason to examine your storage devices, the deleted message might as well not have been deleted.