A reader recently wrote in with the following question:
I believe I am being scammed and have had no success finding an e-mail address for Interpol Washington to get their view of the immediate stop order supposedly issued by one of their agents.
The question contains several elements that need to be answered to fully educate the reader about possible next steps. I’ll address each in turn:
- The reader appears to be (or believes he is) a victim of a crime. Crime victims who seek INTERPOL’s involvement must approach local law enforcement officials, who will, in turn, contact their country’s National Central Bureau, which will then determine whether any type of notice should be requested from INTERPOL.
- The reader is trying to reach INTERPOL Washington in order to learn about a “stop notice”- likely a Red Notice- that may have been requested by NCB Washington. INTERPOL Washington is the National Central Bureau for the United States, and it acts as a liaison with INTERPOL itself (which is located in Lyon, France).
- It is unlikely that the reader will have success in obtaining information from NCB Washington, as it normally communicates with law enforcement agencies rather than civilians.
- It is more likely that the reader will need to directly approach the original law enforcement agency that investigated the underlying crime or the prosecuting office that is seeking to prosecute the subject. If that information is unknown, the reader should contact local law enforcement to report a crime, knowing that s/he may be redirected to another agency for investigation. Local law enforcement (the police department, the FBI field office, etc.) will be able to check on whether the matter may be related to an existing Red Notice, diffusion, or other data in INTERPOL’s files.
As always, thoughts and comments are welcomed.
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