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Fake web sites target disaster donors

3:53 p.m., Sept. 2, 2005--Those who want to make contributions to assist the victims of the disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina have been warned to be on the lookout for fraudulent web sites soliciting donations.

A bulletin issued by the City University of New York and the New York State Office of Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Coordination warns that in addition to collecting donations, some of the fraudulent web sites attempt to collect personal information through phishing scams and also spreading malware to unsuspecting users.

“Over the past few days, domain names that redirect users to malicious web sites have appeared online, in addition to e-mail scams requesting donations for those impacted by the hurricane. While some of these sites and messages may be legitimate, many are not,” the Sept. 1 bulletin stated and gave three examples of fraudulent web sites:

• katrinahelp.com;
• katrinacleanup.com; and
• katrinarelief.com.

“Please note that this is not an exhaustive list and additional domains may continue to appear. In addition to fraudulent web sites, opportunists may use this event as a vehicle for other types of online attacks. For example, e-mail messages that claim to contain attachments with photos, video, or other information about Hurricane Katrina may actually contain viruses, worms, or other malware.”

The bulletin makes several recommendations:

• Validate the relief fund or charity through a known reliable entity;
• When a message containing a request for donations for victims appears, do not respond unless you are certain it is a valid message;
• Avoid visiting untrusted web sites;
• Avoid opening e-mail messages and attachments that claim to contain video, photos, or other information relating to relief solicitation for Hurricane Katrina; and
• Follow standard best practices for e-mail and web browsing security.

For more information, visit the following web sites:

• Federal Emergency Management Agency at [www.fema.gov/press/2005/resources_katrina.shtm];
• Better Business Bureau at [www.give.org/news/disaster_pr.asp];
• SANS Institute at [http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?date=2005-08-31]; and
• The Washington Post at [http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2005/08/katrina_phishin.html].

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