FBI Braces for Haiti-Relief Scam Onslaught
Monday, February 8th, 2010Scams are growing more diverse, and the FBI has a special team of computer analysts, fraud investigators and white-collar crime experts reviewing complaints, says David Nanz, chief of the FBI's economic crimes unit.
"We're seeing a lot of computer-based fraud -- unsolicited e-mails, bogus Web sites," Nanz adds, plus "traditional stuff (in which) people are just raising money on the street fraudulently."
The FBI and at least five state attorneys general have issued alerts on Haiti relief scams.
A hotline at the Justice Department's National Center for Disaster Fraud has received more than 100 complaints, and dozens more have come via the Internet, department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney says.
The complaint volume is lower than after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005 but on par with other foreign disasters, Sweeney says. These days, people can be drawn into scams just by typing "Haiti donations" into Google, says Johannes Ullrich, chief research officer for the SANS Institute, an organization that does computer security research.
One site that pops up in response to that search greets visitors with an ominous message: "Warning!!! Your computer contains various signs of viruses..." The user then is prompted to buy virus-removal software.
It's a con to sell bogus software that could be designed to steal personal data, Ullrich says. And it highlights the risks facing Americans eager to support earthquake relief. Among them:
*In-person scams. These range from door-to-door solicitations for fake charities to more esoteric cons. On Jan. 22, for example, federal prosecutors charged a Michigan man with posing as an FBI agent to collect money "to help children in Haiti."
*E-mail, texting scams. These include bogus e-mail solicitations from people...
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