Phishing in the Wake of Katrina
Looters are apparently not to the only persons seeking to benefit from the misery of others. The Salt Lake Tribune recently reported increasing incidents of phising in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Within hours after Katrina devastated much of New Orleans, a flurry of Katrina-related domain name registrations were reported; many thought to be linked to bogus charities and fund-raising cons. (Example of possible phishing site described here). On eBay, sellers are auctioning Katrina-related domain names "promising" to donate a portion of the proceeds of the sale to flood relief efforts. Even the large financial markets are not immune.
The Security and Exchange Commission has reported increasing incidents of securities fraud in connection with skyrocketing oil prices and is urging persons who receive fraudulent email, fax and telephone solicitations and file a complaint with the SEC directly via email here.
In the event you chose to contribute to flood relief efforts, the article offers the following tips from FEMA to protect yourself from cyber-criminals:
· Donate money only to established national relief organizations such as the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and United Way.
· Give directly to the charity and not to solicitors for the charity. Even if the solicitors are legitimate, solicitors typically reserve for themselves a portion of the donations to cover their costs, leaving less for the victims of Katrina.
· Never give out personal or financial information as they should not generally be required (i.e., social security number, bank account number).
· Contribute by check or credit card — Never give cash.
Posted by Peter Mucklestone and Stuart Louie