Monday, January 24, 2005
So long Nigerian, Hello Tsunami?
Scam artists are now posing as tsunami victims on the Internet in a bid to divert some of the millions of dollars flowing to relief efforts?? When will the madness end??
Poorly written appeals for help have begun to appear in e-mail inboxes, asking for donations through a Web site or an offshore bank account??
It's only a matter of time before this becomes the next greatest scam on the FBI watch list.
As info, aid organizations have collected millions of dollars through the Internet since a tsunami claimed an estimated 150,000 lives from Indonesia to Africa on Dec. 26. Amazon.com alone has collected over $15 million for the American Red Cross through its Web site.
The fraudulent appeals are patterned after two existing scams: "phishing" attacks that direct people to legitimate-looking Web sites in order to trick them into giving up their credit card numbers, and 419 scams, messages that promise great riches in exchange for a bank account number.
One message provided to Reuters asks for help freeing up a bank account in the Netherlands, a common 419 tactic. Another claims to be from a small village in Indonesia but asks recipients to route donations through a bank account in Malta.
"We have been rendered homeless and have lost all we have in life...We will be very grateful if you can assist us with any amount of money to enable us to start a new lease of life," the message says.
Yet, the scam is in it's early stages as the the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it has received no complaints about tsunami relief scams so far. The agency urged donors to contact legitimate aid organizations and disregard phone and e-mail solicitations.
More info at Guardian eCommerce.
Poorly written appeals for help have begun to appear in e-mail inboxes, asking for donations through a Web site or an offshore bank account??
It's only a matter of time before this becomes the next greatest scam on the FBI watch list.
As info, aid organizations have collected millions of dollars through the Internet since a tsunami claimed an estimated 150,000 lives from Indonesia to Africa on Dec. 26. Amazon.com alone has collected over $15 million for the American Red Cross through its Web site.
The fraudulent appeals are patterned after two existing scams: "phishing" attacks that direct people to legitimate-looking Web sites in order to trick them into giving up their credit card numbers, and 419 scams, messages that promise great riches in exchange for a bank account number.
One message provided to Reuters asks for help freeing up a bank account in the Netherlands, a common 419 tactic. Another claims to be from a small village in Indonesia but asks recipients to route donations through a bank account in Malta.
"We have been rendered homeless and have lost all we have in life...We will be very grateful if you can assist us with any amount of money to enable us to start a new lease of life," the message says.
Yet, the scam is in it's early stages as the the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it has received no complaints about tsunami relief scams so far. The agency urged donors to contact legitimate aid organizations and disregard phone and e-mail solicitations.
More info at Guardian eCommerce.
