The U.S. Census Bureau today stopped an e-mail scam that lured individuals with a $5 instant cash reward to participate in a bogus online “Operation Iraqi Freedom 2005 Survey.” The survey, however, was not a legitimate Census Bureau survey.

     The e-mail scam, which began at 7:49 a.m. EDT today, provided individuals with a link that took them to a “spoof” Web page that appeared to be the official Census Bureau Internet site. After luring people into believing that they were at the actual Census Bureau home page (known as “phishing” by IT professionals), individuals were asked to answer five questions about their opinions on the Iraq War and provide their bankcard number and PIN to receive the $5 cash reward.

     The Census Bureau took immediate action and successfully shut down the bogus Web page at 12:20 p.m. EDT — less than five hours after the e-mail scam began. The Census Bureau worked closely with the Department of Commerce and notified the appropriate law enforcement agencies about this fraudulent activity. The FBI is currently investigating to identify the individual(s) responsible for this deceptive and illegal financial scam.

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