[BARC-List] Beware of "scareware"

[Bob - wa1ida@arrl.net]

Anticipating the upcoming flood of earthquake relief scams, the FBI has released the following tips in order to raise more awareness: 

    • Do not respond to any unsolicited (spam) incoming e-mails, including clicking links contained within those messages. 
    • Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims or officials asking for donations via e-mail or social networking sites. 
    • Verify the legitimacy of nonprofit organizations by utilizing various Internet-based resources that may assist in confirming the group’s existence and its nonprofit status rather than following a purported link to the site. 
    • Be cautious of e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders. 
    • Make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf to ensure contributions are received and used for intended purposes. 
    • Do not give your personal or financial information to anyone who solicits contributions: Providing such information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft.