TSUNAMI DISASTER
RELIEF FRAUD ALERT!
Don’t be scammed.
01/05/05
Why
should we be surprised? Criminals are using email and websites to siphon
charitable contributions for tsunami victims into their own pockets.
What
kind of schemes?
1. False
websites have been established that pretend to be legitimate relief organizations
asking for donations—one of which contains an imbedded Trojan exploit
that can infect your computer with a virus if accessed.
2. Unsolicited
incoming emails (SPAM) that offer, for a fee, to locate loved ones who
may have been a disaster victim.
3. Unsolicited
emails requesting that money be deposited in overseas banks to support
the tsunami relief effort.
4. Unsolicited
emails which seek personal or financial information in an effort to retrieve
large amounts of inheritance funds tied up in relation to the tsunami
disaster.
How
do we know about these schemes?
Because
they’re being reported to the Internet
Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
What
are we doing about it?
With
our partners in industry and in domestic and international law enforcement,
we are aggressively pursuing those attempting to victimize philanthropic
individuals.
What
can YOU do about it?
The IC3
has good advice, consistent with previous advice on incidents of Phishing/Spoofing
and Identity Theft. If you’re considering on-line options for providing
funding to this relief effort:
Several
variations of this scam are currently in circulation. Anyone who has
received an email referencing the above information or anyone who may
have been a victim of this or a similar incident should notify the IC3
via the website, www.ic3.gov.
Links: Press
Release | Cyber stories